Memories Lost
by IcemanX
Summary: An unknown enemy arrives and throws Sakaki's life into turmoil. Now, having lost all memory, she must fight for survival. Armed with only the image of her enemy's face, Sakaki lusts for revenge. Epilogue up, and story complete! Hope you all enjoyed it!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh, blah blah blah.

**A few opening words:** Alright, this is an idea I've been toying with for some time, and I finally decided to just start writing it and see how it goes. It's currently rated T, but that may go up, as it will probably get more mature (not sex-related, I can't write that stuff). Let me know if it's any good!

* * *

It had been a long day fo Sakaki. Today's classes seemed to have teamed up to make the longest day possible with a test in every class except P.E., but to compensate, there were fitness exams in P.E. instead. Yukari had even decided to play a prank on her students, or so it seemed, as the main part of the test was translating an odd poem, which was apparently very old and contained a lot of metaphors, making translating difficult. 

In the end it all turned out alright. Yukari came to her senses and decided to omit everyone from the test. Though, not without some persuation on Nyamo's part, Sakaki was sure. The other tests turned out to be quite easy, just long. So, after a hard day's work she had left school with Chiyo, to go to her place and spend some time studying for exams, and, more importantly, playing with Maya, her very own Iriomote Mountain Cat.

Sakaki had stayed there for a few hours, and had also eaten dinner with Chiyo as well. Chiyo had been the cook, her parents weren't home. She said her farewells and left at around 8:00 at night. Her day seemed to end in a good mood, despite all the work she had had to do. Though, this seemed to change on her way home. Only halfway home, it had started to rain. Hard. Sakaki, without an umbrella, was forced to run home in the rain, getting almost completely drenched in the process.

Now, in a somewhat foul mood, she rounded the corner to her street, and walked the rest of the way, too tired to keep running. Luckily the rain had let up a bit, now only a slight drizzle. Sakaki sighed, and headed down the street, glad to be almost home. Then she noticed her shoe had become untied. As she bent over to tie it back up, the rain stopped, only to be replaced by a wave of dense fog. All sound seemed to be drowned out by the fog, giving the normally peaceful neighborhood an ominous feel to it. Sakaki stood up, having finished with her shoe, and continued walking, albeit at a slower, cautious pace.

Once in view of her house, she was met with an odd feeling, one that caused her to feel cold and scared all at once. She saw that, in front of her house, there was a pair of black sedans parked outside by the curb. Sakaki approached even slower, and saw a tall, strong looking man wearing a black suit standing in the front walkway. He appeared to be holing a gun or something, Sakaki couldn't be sure. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that it would be best not to be noticed.

Sakaki ran around the back of the house, and peered around the corner. Another man in a suit was blocking he rear entrance. _No good, _she thought. Already exhausted from the run home, she pondered what to do. Leaning against the wall, she was about to leave and go call the police, when she heard what sounded like a gunshot coming from inside. Now fully terrified, she looked for an entrance. Up on the second floor, she could see that her bedroom window was still open from the night before. _Perfect._ Sakaki took a running start, and jumped up and grabbed onto the low roof that was in front of the window. She struggled a bit, but managd to pull herself up. She quietly climbed through the window, and into her room. She didn't care about getting the place dirty.

Sakaki opened her door as quietly as possible and slowly stepped out into the hallway. Looking left and right, she saw no one. But as she exited the room, the door she came from slammed shut, and a hand clasped firmly over her mouth. She felt something like a small steel tube pressed into her back. From behind her, a gruff voice called out to the main floor.

"Hey boss! Found another one! It's the girl!" From down below, another, younger voice answered.

"Well then hurry up and bring her down then! We don't have much time!" The voice from behid her spoke again, and he simultaneously jabbed the thing into her back. She didn't think it was simply a steel tube. "Get moving." Sakaki hesitated, and he pressed the object into her back harder. "_Now._" She gave in, and shuffled down the stairs.

They arrived downstairs and turned a corner into the livingroom. Before Sakaki could register what was going on, she was shoved forcefully to the ground. She looked up, and what she saw chilled her to the bone. Her mother was over on the other side of the room, lying sprawled on the floor, facing the other direction. A small pool of blood surrounded her head. She looked back to the other side. Her father was kneeling with his hands tied behind his back, and a man, who looked to be no older than 21, stood staring him down with a gun leveled at his head.

Sakaki's Father glanced over, and she saw a pained expression in his face as he registered her presence. He closed his eyes and was about to rise up to mount a counter attack, but didn't get far. Sakaki let out an odd combination of a scream and a sob as the man with the gun pulled the trigger. Her father's head jerked back as a spray of red came out the back. He slumped back to the floor.

Sakaki was now sobbing uncontrollably. The man who had shot her dad slowly walked over to her, and made a sligt motion to the other man who had brought her downstairs. She was instantly lifted, by her hair, into a kneeling position. Sakaki stifled her sobs and looked into the eyes of the murderer. She was angry, and would've enjoyed nothing more than to strangle this man with her bare hands.

"You want to kill me? Hmm?" The man taunted. Sakaki struggled against her captor, but to no avail. Two others entered the room, carrying gas cans. They poured the contents around the room, and tossed the cans aside.

"What a shame, you were so beautiful too." Sakaki's eyes widened, and she let out an ear piercing scream, just before she heard a loud bang, and her world became pain. Her vision flooded with red, and she felt extremely tired.

Sakaki struggled to remain consious, despite the blinding pain in her head, for what seemed like an eternity. She had no idea what was going on around her. Before long, she felt a searing heat at her legs. Struggling against the pain and heat, she rolled herself over onto her stomach. The pain was so intense, she would've screamed, but she found no voice. Sakaki concentrated on putting one arm infront of the other as she slowly crawled towards where she thought the exit was. All she could make out was various light and dark blobs, obscureed by a red haze. The heat had envelloped her now, but she kept crawling.

Soon, she has made her way to the door, and with all that was left of her strength, she pulled herself outside, onto the concrete walkway. She heard a faint crash as pert of the house collapsed behind her, followed by the faint sound of sirens. Her vision began to darken, and the sirens drifted away into nothingness. She tried to move, scream, anything, but to no avail. A great black void envelopped her, and there was nothing she could do. All the pain, heat, everything, seemed to disappear, replaced by nothing. All at once, she felt nothing...

* * *

**Author's notes:** Well, theres the prologue for ya. It's kinda violent and depressing I know, but its only the beginning, so don't worry. Let me know what you think. 

And if you find any errors please let me know kindly, as I am forced to work in Wordpad which doesn't have spellcheck. Also, why isn't there an action category?


	2. Chapter 1: A Period of Slumber

**Disclaimer:** Alright, I've had enough of these, and you all get the point anyway.

**A few opening words:** Alright, it was noted that the prologue's mood changed from humor to tragedy rather fast, but thats what I was going for, to illustrate how quickly things can take a turn for the worst. And me doing this to Sakaki is to set up for later events. I promise it won't all be doom and gloom for her. There'll be more humor, and happy parts later. Maybe even a few parts worthy of Die Hard, who knows...

* * *

"Eh? Sakaki-san isn't here today?"

"No, Kaorin, she didn't even call. We're kinda worried actually, this isn't like her..." Chiyo turned and headed over to the railing. The six of them, Yomi, Tomo, Kagura, Osaka, and Kaorin, had all gone to the roof for lunch, where the topic of Sakaki's absense was brought up. Kaorin joined Chiyo at the railing, and looked out over the town. Osaka broke the silence.

"You know, I heard there was a fire or something in your area last night, Chiyo-chan." Chiyo blinked, and turned to Osaka. "Really? Where?"

"I'm not sure, I just heard about it from my mom, who heard it from her friend, who knows this guy..." Yomi quickly cut her off.

"Alright Osaka, we get it. So it's not a very reliable source."

"Now that you mention it, I'm not even sure that's what she said..." The whole group sighed, and the silence returned. It was some time before Kaorin decided to speak up again.

"We should go see miss Sakaki after school, make sure she's alright." The whole group looked up. In unison, they agreed.

* * *

All six girls walked in silence, none willing to speak up. It was as if a dark aura had fallen over the neighborhood as they neared Sakaki's house. They hadn't seen a single stray cat, which was odd for this neighborhood, as there was normally an abundance of them.

"Maybe they know something we don't..." Osaka offered, referring to the alleycats. "Osaka-san...?" Chiyo queried. Osaka ignored her however, and they again walked in silence. They neared the corner to turn onto Sakaki's street, only to find it blocked off by two police cars, and a few officers. One of them approached the group.

"I'm sorry girls, but this area's a crime scene. No non-essential personnel allowed." Kaorin nearly fainted.

"CRIME SCENE?!?" She bolted right by the officer before he could catch her. The rest of the girls followed, except for Chiyo, who instead turned to the officer, with a pained expression on her faced.

"We're friends with a girl on this street. Sakaki. What happened?" He looked back at the other officers. They shrugged.

"Ahhh...might as well tell you, its too late now anyway. There was a suspected mob hit in the neighborhood. Your friend, she wasn't a tall girl, with dark hair was she?" Chiyo's eyes started to water. The officer looked sad. "Well, her family...was involved. It's best not to go into details, we aren't really sure ourselves." He was about to continue, when Tomo ran back, breathing heavily. The others were close behind, being herded along by a group of firemen. Kaorin was crying uncontrollably, muttering Sakaki's name between sobs. The others seemed on the verge of tears as well. Tomo, having regained some of her breath, spoke up.

"All...gone...Sakaki's house, it's...gone." She then began crying too. Chiyo, oddly enough, was the only one _not_ crying She looked back at the officer.

"Where is she?"

* * *

Kagura sat in the front seat of a squad car, Chiyo and Osaka were in the back seat. Yomi, Tomo, and Kaorin were all in a second carm right behind them. Two of the officers had agreed to drive them to the hospital where Sakaki was taken. Kagura, who had been the first to regain her composition, now listened as the officer explained what he knew about the incident. She was the only one listening; Osaka was busy comforting a now crying Chiyo.

"Well, when we arrived, the whole house was already burning. The firemen did their best, and managed to contain it and prevent it from spreading. Anyway, we found your friend on the ground outside the house, a little ways from the door. She had a bullet wound to the head, adn from the trail if blood and cuts on her knees and elbows, she managed to drag herself outside _after _having been shot. It's a miracle she didn't get 3rd degree burns too."

"Hmm... You say it's a miracle about the burns, huh? Will she even live long enough to realize what happened?"" Kagura was almost yelling at the end of her sentence, and calmed herself. _It's not his fault.._ she thought.

"Well, she had almost no pulse when we found her, but the paramedics managed to get there fast enough and took her to the hospital. They were more surprised by her condition than we were."

"But, she's alright now, right?"

"Well, they operated all night long, and most of the day today. Last I heard she was in intensive care, under the eye of the hospital's best doctors and surgeons." He sighed. "From the sound of it, the prognosis wasn't good." Kagura nodded, and looked out the window at nothing in particular. The policeman spoke up again.

"Was there anyone you can think of who would want to do this to her, and her family?"

"Everyone either loved her or admired her, there was no one who would ever hurt her purposefully. Except maybe that damn grey cat..."

"Cat...?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some random alley cat that never liked her. Always bit her when she tried to pet him. Which is odd, cause she seemed to like animals so much."

No one spoke for the rest of the trip. The silence was only broken by the occasional sob from Chiyo in the backseat.

* * *

They arrived at the hospital and immediately headed up to the intensive care ward. With a little persuation from the police officer, they were let through. A nurse took them to Sakaki's room, where a octor with a worried expression on his face was waiting outside, looking through the contents of a clipboard. He looked up as the girls approached. He raised his hand in protest but was cut off by the officer.

"They're close friends of the girl. Let them by." The doctor sighed, adn opened the door. He entered first, and held it open for the others. The officer waited outside. All six girls looked on their friend, who was lying on the bed, a mass of bandages around the top right side of her head. She seemed to be sleeping, but her breathing was slow. Her hair had also been cut very short as well. All started to silently cry, except one. The least likely of all, Chiyo, simply swallowed her grief and spoke up, however broken her speech was.

"Sakaki..." She wiped her eyes dry, and looked up at the doctor. "What happened to her hair?"

"We had to cut it in order to tend to the wound."

"Will she be alright? How is she now?"

"Well...she's stable," he looked at his clipboard, "somewhat. We managed to stop the bleeding and stitch up the damage done by the bullet. We still need to do surgery to reconstrust her skull. So far though, she's pulled through. Unfortunately, there is some bad news..." The doctor sighed, and seemed quite sad as well. The rest of the group was now listening intently, and silently wondering how Chiyo, usually the most emotional of the group, had got the guts to speak up first. The doctor looked over the group, and down at the clipboard again, as if not beliving what was written.

"She's in a coma. We're not sure how long it will last, or even if," he coughed, trying to cover up the fact that he was also on the verge of tears. "Or even if she will ever wake up." The whole group gasped, now too scared to cry.

"You mean we might _never_ speak to her again?!?" Tomo yelled at the doctor.

"Tomo, yelling isn't going to help..." Tomo glanced over at Yomi, and collapsed into her, crying. Yomi held her, and tried to comfort her.

"There is a chance she could wake up. As far as she's come, I wouldn't be surprised. Not many people survive a gunshot to the head, let alone stay concious long enough to drag themselves out of the building. That was bo doubt attributed to her state of fitness as well. Though, there _is _one last thing. Should she wake up... she might not be the same girl you knew." He took a moment to wipe sweat off his forehead.

"The part of her brain that was hit controls her long-term memory. She may not remember any of you."

* * *

After speaking with the dovtor, whose name they found was Hayate, the girls were granted permission to Sakaki's room whenever they pleased. They agreed that they would meet there at least twice a week, if not more.

The next two months saw the girls finish their third year of highschool, all passing the entrance exams, Chiyo included. Her father had pulled some strings, and got Tokyo U to allow her to try out, even though she had skipped grades. Needless to say she passed with flying colors, and decided on taking Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Yomi and Tomo got accepted into a local College, both still unsure of what they wanted to do. Kagura and Osaka got into a different college, also local. Kagura made it in with a sports scholorship, intent on pursuing a career in athletics. Osaka had chosen the school because of the philosophy programs it offered. It seemed fitting for her. Lastly, Kaorin also managed to get accepted by Tokyo U, into their Astrology/Astronomy program.

Throughout the summer, the girls met on the predetermined dates to visit Sakaki, often getting together other times as well. It seemed that Sakaki's tragedy had brought them all closer together. After the reconstructive surgery to repair Sakaki's skull, she was taken out of itensive care, and put into a normal room. Soon after the room change, Chiyo managed to convince the nurses to allow Maya into the room, to visit his 'mother'. After many attempts to remove Maya from the room, the girls and the nurses gave up, and allowed Maya to live there by Sakaki's side. Chiyo made sure they knew to feed him every day, but not to try to pet him, or get too close to Sakaki. It took some time before Maya got comfortable around Dr. Hayate, and they didn't want to have to go through the process again.

Two months passed by, and with two weeks left of summer vacation, the six girls met up yet again to visit their friend.

* * *

"Ah! Good morning, Maya!" Chiyo stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her Tadakichi-san. Maya allowed her to pet him, before he hopped back up onto the bed to snuggle Sakaki's limp form. The operations had all been successful, and her bandages had all been removed. All that remained of the wound was a thin scar going across the top-left sied of her head, just above her hairline. Her hair had alos begun to grow back, and was now about 3/4s the way to her shoulders. Chiyo took the flowers out of the vase they had left there a while ago, and refilled it. She returned it to its place, and sat down in a chair beside Sakaki's bed, with Tadakichi-san beside her, and Maya curled up in a ball on Sakaki's chest.

Chiyo had changed her hairstyle over the summer, opting to let it fall naturally instead of tying it into pigtails. The red hair fell slightly past her shoulders, and she felt as if it made her look older and more mature, which it did. Her attitude had changed a bit since Sakaki's tragedy as well, as had all of theirs. They were still all themselves, but the incident had hardened them. Chiyo heard voices outside the door, and the rest of the gang entered. They spread out and chatted sheerfully, all including Sakaki in their greetings. They grabbed a chair each, the nurses had left a bunch of folding chairs in the room for them, and Tomo turned on the television.

They talked for what seemed like hours, over a variety of subjects, from their future plans to what they had for dinner last night. Just as Chiyo was about to add something to the conversation, she noticed Maya was acting strangely. He was now actively rubbing against Sakaki's face, mewing softly. Chiyo watched for a moment, intrigued, when she noticed Sakaki's eyelids flutter. She stood up, and bolted to the bedside. Maya began to mew louder, and rub harder, and Sakaki seemed to squint.

"Everyone, quick! She's waking up!"

* * *

**Author's notes:** Alright, a long first chapter yay! Well, as you can see, things aren't perfect yet. Don't worry too much. Some good things will happen, as will some more bad things. They always do. But I promise it _will _end well. When I plan a story, I normally end up with the beginning and end, with the middle to be decided as the story is written. When I write a story, no matter how dark I make it, I always have wto types of endings. Either it's suspenseful, with room for a sequel, or its happy. I hate tragic endings. Makes me fell like "What was the _point_ of all that, just to hve the main character _die _ in the end?" or something to that effect. I'll admit that most of the storyies with those endings (the Romeo&Juliet ending I call it), all have a bit of good come from it. But I call this bull, I like _fully_ happy endings.

And about some Out-of-character-ness on any of them, I have a reason now! You will soon see why I had to make this happen. I will try to keep them in character for the most part, but there will be a few noticable changes here and there. Artistic license. If you don't like it, no one's forcing you to read.

On a side note, I will be going away for a few days _in _a few days, so in the next few days I will be writing as much as possible. Hope you stay with me! Till next time!

Also, same rule as always goes for errors. The time right now is 5:06am, and I'm somewhat tired, so at least try to be nice when pointing them out. I know there are a few. I promise, tomorrow...er, today I will get the Word problem squared away. I wish I had a brother or sister or something, then I could put them to work as proofreaders...


	3. Chapter 2:  Short Lived Peace

**A few opening words:** Whoo! Back from Vancouver at last. Alright, first of all, if you want a disclaimer, check a previous chapter. Next, I would've had two chapters, but I couldn't figure out how to end the second, so I merged the two, and left what was left for chapter three. If you're reading my other story, Behind the Wheel, the next chapter for that should be up in a few hours, unless I fall asleep due to jetlag. Anyway, on to the long overdue chapter…

* * *

Sakaki looked around. She felt as if she were floating, in what seemed like an endless void. She didn't know how she got here, nor how long she had been there. She could not feel pain, or any temperature, or anything for that matter. Where she was, there was nothing. Nothing except her, that is. Sakaki tried to remember something, _anything_, which would help explain her current situation. Her mind came up blank. It seemed as if she didn't even have her memories to keep her company. She called out into the void again, knowing that no one would answer. 

"Hello? Anyone?" Sakaki sighed, and repeated her message again a few times. She quickly exhausted herself, which she found odd, as she was naturally athletic. However, this time she noticed something different. Off in the distance, in whatever direction that may be, she saw a small glowing object that was quickly approaching. As it drew nearer, Sakaki identified it as something akin to a cat, however large and out of proportion it was. It was roughly oval shaped, yellow, and had odd tentacle-like things for arms. It stopped close to her, and looked upon her with its large eyes.

"We meet again, Sakaki."

"...Again?"

"You do not...remember me?"

"We've met before?" The cat-thing pulsed a dark blue color, and spoke again.

"That's too bad. Are you _sure_ you don't remember me?"

"Um...yeah." It pulsed blue again.

"Hmmm. It seems you have some business to take care of before we speak, then. Good luck!"

"Wait, business? What do you mean?"

"Do not look far, for your enemy is close," it said as it began to drift off into the void.

"Close? What do you mean? There's no one here!"

"Don't take everything so literally, geez..." Without another word, it vanished. _That was...odd, _Sakaki thought to herself. Before she had time to reflect on what had happened, a bright light shined in her face. She tried to look away, but the light seemed to follow her. Sakaki squinted in an attempt to find the light's source. She tried lifting her arm to cover her eyes, but found that she could not move them from her sides. The light was getting brighter now, and she was forced to close her eyes. _What's happening? Why is it so bright?_ A million questions flashed through her head, but were left unanswered as she left was sucked out of the void she had been trapped in for so long.

* * *

Sakaki could hear voices around her, all of which seemed extremely excited. She opened her eyes, but quickly regretted it. Her eyes had been shut for so long, they weren't used to the light. She shut them, and opened more slowly this time. Everything was blurry, but it slowly came into focus. There were five girls around her, and she seemed to be in a small apartment, though it had a lot of medical equipment in it. 

Sakaki's eyes focused more, and she noticed that there were _six _girls, the one she hadn't seen was a foot and a half shorter than most of the others, and had average lenth red hair. She also began to notice a small kitten rubbing up against her side. She looked around at the girls, taking in each one individually.

There was the smaller girl with the red hair, who looked to be still in grade school. She wore her hair in cute pony tails and had a big smile on her face, as all of them did, except the next one. This girl had short, dark hair, was about average height compared to the rest, and had a large goofy grin on her face. The third was taller than the rest, with long brown hair, and square rimmed glasses. Fourth, there was another girl of medium height, with short blue colored hair, who seemed to be on the verge of tears she was so happy. Beside her there was a girl who was extremely tanned, and looked like one who was good at sports. She had dark hair that was probably the shortest of the group. Lastly there was another girl, a little on the shorter side. She had semi-long hair, and had a far off look in her eyes, as if she wasn't looking at Sakaki, but _through _her.

No one spoke for a long time. Sakaki just laid there looking back and forth at the girls, unable to find her voice. It seemed like one of them was going to speak up, when the doctor entered the room.

"Ah! She's finally awoken!" The girls separated to allow him some room. He walked over, and checked the various medical instruments. He then nodded approvingly, and removed the IV drip from her arm. "Well, everything seems to be in order. Sorry about your hair, but we had no choice but to cut it. Forgive me?" He asked with a chuckle. Sakaki tried a smile, and nodded, still unable to speak. "Well, that's nice. Though it seems to be growing back at an abnormally fast pace. Maybe that's how it got so long in the first place! Well, I better leave you to catch up with your friends." _Friends? _"I'll be back in an hour or so to check up." He smiled, and waved his hand over his shoulder as he left, leaving Sakaki with the girls.

They were silent for another moment, but then all at once burst out in an odd combination of crying, laughter and general conversation. One girl was crying hard, muttering Sakaki's name in between sobs, including a small laugh every now and then, and another, obviously the most hyper, was cheering loudly. The one with the glasses had to get her to stop – forcefully. _These girls really seem to care for me…_ The kitten had cuddled up comfortably against her shoulder, oblivious to what was going on around it. Despite how overjoyed the girls were, Sakaki couldn't remember any of them. It was obvious they knew her, but from where? And, now that she thought about it, she didn't even know how she had gotten to the hospital in the first place. Sakaki struggled for a moment, then coughed.

"What's… going on…?" She asked, in a hoarse voice. The smallest girl called out to everyone to get them to quiet down. Sakaki repeated herself.

"What happened here? And why… am I in a hospital?" The girl put a troubled look on her face.

"You don't… remember? Nothing?" Sakaki shook her head slowly. Tears came to her eyes, and the tanned girl took over.

"You just came out of a coma. The doctor said something like this might've happened, but I didn't think-" She was cut off when the taller girl with the glasses hit her in the side of the head. "Ow! Hey!"

"Don't say it so bluntly! She's been through a lot!" Sakaki was confused.

"A lot? What happened?" The smallest girl had regained her composure and stepped forward again.

"It's best to leave that for later, I think. Right now, it would be a good idea to reintroduce ourselves. We're your friends, all of us, from before the… accident. You suffered some brain damage, and because of that, you can't remember us. So… I'm Chiyo Mihama. It's good to have you back, Sakaki-san!"

"Talk about your awkward moments, huh? Takino Tomo, at your service!" The taller girl leaned on Tomo's shoulder.

"She's a little hyper at times like this. I'm Koyomi Mizuhara, or Yomi as you all call me."

"Um… you can just call me Kaorin... Sakaki-san."

"Well, I guess you have an excuse not to remember me this time then? I'm Kagura, your rival!"

The last girl still seemed to be in a world of her own. Kagura elbowed her, probably a little harder than was needed.

"Wha-? Ah, yeah! Ah'm Ayumu Kasuga, but Tomo here branded me Osaka, and that seems ta be what you guys use, so yeah."

Sakaki nodded a greeting to each, knowing that she didn't need to offer her own greeting, as apparently they already knew her. Her attention then fell to the two animals in the room.

"What about this cat, and the dog?" She asked. Chiyo spoke up and answered her question cheerfully.

"That's Maya, you're faithful mountain cat. Didn't leave your side the whole time. And the dog would be Mr. Tadakichi-san. He's been with me longer than I can remember!"

Sakaki nodded, and brought an arm up to pet the kitten, which didn't seem to mind. Sakaki began to realize that Chiyo was probably telling the truth about everything, though she herself couldn't remember a thing about what had happened, and very little about any of the girls. Despite that, Sakaki felt comfortable around them, she felt accepted, as if she had known them her whole life. Their story continued on to various events of the past, Sakaki listening intently, hoping that something that was said would help her remember something from her past. But every time the subject came to what had happened to put Sakaki in the hospital, the girls panicked and changed the subject. _Maybe it's something I should solve on my own._ Before long, an hour had passed, and the doctor, Dr. Hayate as she had been told, returned to the room.

"I have great news! Since you have almost completely recovered from your injuries, you no longer need to stay in the hospital." Chiyo looked excited.

"You mean…?"

"Yes, as of now, you are free to leave whenever you feel up to it!"

"That's great news! Oh, but, where will she stay? I remember her saying she doesn't have any relatives in the area…" Kagura looked worried.

"Hmmm… That does present a problem…" Dr. Hayate looked like he was in deep thought, when Chiyo spoke up, now even more cheerful.

"She can stay with me!" Sakaki looked over, surprised.

"I can? But… I don't want to… be any trouble…"

"It's nothing! The house is plenty big enough. My parents won't be home for a few weeks, but they're always encouraging me to have friends over, so I'm sure they won't mind."

It wasn't long before the girls all had to leave, save for Chiyo. Sakaki bid them farewell, and they all agreed to meet at the park the day after tomorrow to catch up, and try to bring back Sakaki's memory. Chiyo and Sakaki stayed at the hospital a short while longer before she felt she was ready to leave. Sakaki changed into the donor clothes left by the doctor, and headed out to her new temporary home, with Chiyo riding Tadakichi-san beside her, and Maya lounging on the back of her neck.

* * *

Sakaki sighed and took another sip of her tea, and stroked Maya gently, who was asleep in her lap. She was in the T.V. room of Chiyo's house. Chiyo had gone to the kitchen to make them some dinner. Sakaki had offered to help, but Chiyo wouldn't have it, so Sakaki simply tried to relax. The television was on, but she paid no attention to it. Now, her mind was on more serious matters. Soon after the two had arrived home, they got into conversation and decided it was best for Sakaki to know what really happened to Sakaki and her family. Of course, Chiyo only knew what everyone else knew, so the final bit of information could only come from Sakaki. She had hoped that learning what happened would jar her memory, but it was no use. She was devastated to hear of her parents' deaths, but knew no more than that. Not how it happened, or who or what was the cause. 

Sakaki rubbed her eyes, which were now sore and itchy from her crying. Tadakichi was sprawled on his side beside her, and nudged her affectionately with his big head. _They always said animals could tell when you're feeling down._ She smiled, and scratched his head. Setting down the tea, she let herself fall back so she was laying on her back beside the dog, arms behind her head for support. Sakaki stared up at the roof, and tried to clear her head of all distressing thoughts. She hated thinking about depressing things, especially at a time like this. She had just woken up from a two month coma, been reunited with her friends, who, despite her not remembering any of them, stood by her, and all she could think about was her parents' murder. Before she had a chance to dwell more on the matter, Chiyo returned carrying a tray of what looked like sushi and udon.

"Well, we didn't have much there, so I cooked up what I could. Enjoy!" She said, placing the tray on the table. The smells drifted over to Sakaki, and her mouth began to water. _It looks so…delicious…_

"You… made this?" She took a bite. "It's amazing! How did you learn to cook like this?"

"Oh, I learned from various cookbooks, and relatives, but mostly just trial and error."

"Wow…" Sakaki could say no more, and simply ate as much as she could, as fast as she could.

"You know, you shouldn't eat so fast…"

Sakaki ignored her, and continued eating. She was about halfway through when something caught her eye on the T.V. behind Chiyo. She dropped her chopsticks, and swallowed her mouthful.

"Turn that up!" She blurted. Chiyo grabbed the remote and raised the volume. It was a news program about street crime in Tokyo, mainly the various mobs. In particular, they noted that there was a new gang on the rise, known only as 'The Grey Men', and were headed by a man known only by his first name, Shuji. They showed a partial picture, taken of him as he was entering a black limousine. He was a relatively young man, probably in his early twenties, with slick black hair. He wore a grey suit, small circular rimmed black sunglasses, and a tough, almost displeased expression on his face. Sakaki froze. Her mouth went dry and she felt cold. A plethora of images ran through her head of their own will, stopping on one in particular. Her one memory from the night of her parents' murder, one piece of the memory she had been striving to find. The face of the killer. Sakaki swallowed her fear, and spoke with grim determination.

"That's him."

* * *

"You sure it was her?" 

"Positive. Saw her with my own eyes boss."

"Dammit. You know where she is?"

"She left the hospital with a young girl. I tracked them to a large estate. Little girl must be pretty rich. They're still there now."

"Good. You know what to do. If you fail, don't bother coming back. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

* * *

**Author's notes: watch to add more dramatic effect to cliffhanger**

******  
**The plot thickens! Heh, more cliffhangers. I love 'em. I love a book that's full of them. It keeps me coming back for more, wanting to find out what's gonna happen next. So, you may hate me, but I'll end up doing that a lot.

**I now am in possession of Microsoft Office 2007, no pirating WHATSOEVER involved. None. Whatever you heard is a LIE. Anyway, Word '07 is WEIRD. I don't like the look. At all. But on the plus side, no more spelling and grammar errors (hopefully)!**

**Lastly, um, read and review? Have fun speculating, next chapter to be expected in a day or two.**


	4. Chapter 3: Intruder!

**A few opening words: **Screw that, no opening words for you!

* * *

A black BMW sedan pulled up out front of the Mihama residence. A muscular man in a grey suit stepped out. He proceeded to open the trunk and pulled out a shoulder bag. Walking over to the front gate's keypad, he took out a screwdriver and silently removed the pad. With wire cutters, he disconnected two wires, and connected them to a pair that was also connected to a laptop. A few keystrokes later, the gate slid open.

The man crouched low and crept along the wall, following it all the way to the side of the house. Once there, he set down the bag and drew out a small tool that looked like a compass with a suction cup in the middle. Pressing it firmly against the glass, near where the handle was, he used it to score a small arm sized circle in the glass. He took out a small rubber hammer and lightly tapped on the glass all around the cut, pulling on the instrument at the same time. The small section of glass slid out without a sound. Reaching in through the hole, he unlocked the window and pulled it open.

Now provided with an entrance, he silently climbed through the window, leaving the bag outside. Reaching into his suit, he pulled out a silenced pistol. He looked around what seemed to be the T.V. room. There was no one to be seen. He slowed his breathing and, making as little noise as possible, made his way towards the hall, eager to finish his job quickly.

* * *

Sakaki lay awake on the bed Chiyo had made for her. It was in the spare bedroom, which, aside from the bed, didn't have much else in it. There was a small bed table with a lamp on it, and a mirror on the wall, for whatever reason. Her thoughts traced back to her conversation earlier with young Chiyo, who seemed far too mature for her age. Sakaki had confirmed herself that this Shuji was her assailant, and Chiyo hadn't doubted it. Sakaki had vowed right there to take revenge, to make him pay. Chiyo had been shocked. They broke out into an argument. Sakaki remembered her words clearly.

"Miss Sakaki, what are you _saying_? This isn't like you! The Sakaki I knew wouldn't dream of hurting someone, no matter what happened! I don't care if you've lost your memory, you're still you!" She had tears in her eyes the whole time, yet kept her composure.

"Chiyo, this is _different_. This was my _family_! What did we ever do to deserve this? I don't care what I used to be like! Maybe it's good that I've changed. I can, and will, repay him."

"Sakaki-san, why? All this fighting, it won't help! It'll just make things worse!"

"Things have to get worse in order to get better…"

"Oh, Sakaki-san, why did this have to happen to you…?" The small girl couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She ran over and hugged Sakaki tightly. Sakaki was surprised by this, but returned the gesture. They had remained in that position for what seemed like an eternity, before Chiyo released her, and without a word led her to her room. They locked eyes for a moment, and an unspoken apology was passed between them. With a forced smile, Chiyo headed off to bed.

Now that she had gone over the night's events, Sakaki began to think towards the future. How would she go about exacting her revenge? _No, revenge is such a cruel word, _she thought. _I am just going to return the favor. _Before she could get any further, she heard faint creak coming from the hall. She sat bolt upright. Someone was on the stairs. She remembered clearly that the stairs seemed to be the only part of the old house that showed its age, creaking loudly no matter lightly someone stepped. Sakaki listened closely. Another creak broke the silence. She silently got out of her bed, still in the clothes from the day before, a pair of grey slacks and a green turtleneck. She crept over to the door, and peered down the hall towards the stairs. It was pitch black, but she could make out a figure at the top of the stairs. Sakaki held her breath as the figure made its way into the first room, Chiyo's parents' room. She saw her chance, and silently slipped across the hall into Chiyo's room.

Sliding the door shut, Sakaki made her way over to Chiyo's bed, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness. She put her hand over the girl's mouth and gently shook her awake. Her eyes opened a crack, and then shot fully open.

"Mmmm!"

"Quiet!" Sakaki hissed. She locked eyes with the girl, and, believing Chiyo understood the severity of the situation, she removed her hand from Chiyo's mouth. Sakaki leaned closer, her voice but a whisper. "There's someone in the house, and I don't think they're friendly."

She heard a small thump as the intruder bumped into something in the dark. Chiyo heard it too.

"Stick close to me, Chiyo-chan."

Sakaki looked around for something to use as a weapon. Since Shuji had failed in his obvious attempt to kill her, she figured this man was sent to finish the job. Sakaki wouldn't let that happen, especially not when it would involve young Chiyo. Her eyes fell on a clay vase on one of the shelves. She picked it off the shelf, and realized it was quite heavy, the walls made thick. _This should do._

Sakaki took Chiyo's arm and led her over beside the door. She made her stand behind it, out of harm's way, whereas Sakaki took up a position on the other side with her back to the wall and the door to her right, vase at the ready. She heard quiet footsteps outside the door. The doorknob turned slowly, not making a sound, and the door opened a notch, and Sakaki could see the man's hand on the doorknob, a grey suit top ending at the wrist. _It is one of them,_ she thought. She raised the vase over her left shoulder, both hands on it, ready to swing. The hand drew back, and instead, a small black tube slowly pushed the door open. As more was revealed, Sakaki saw that it was a gun, with what she assumed was a silencer on the end of it. She had seen them on the television. Tensing her muscles, she waited for just the right moment. The man put a foot forward, the door now fully open, and cautiously stepped into the room, oblivious to the danger.

Sakaki waited until she could see the intruder's face, and then swung with all her might. The vase arced horizontally and collided with the man's face with a sickening crunch. A stream of blood sprang from the man's nose, and the gun flew from his hands. He was propelled backwards by the force of the blow, and lost balance quickly. He landed in a heap, half in the door, and half out, blood pouring from his obviously broken nose. Sakaki inspected the vase. It wasn't broken, and only had a small spatter of blood to show that it had been used as a weapon. She dropped it and flicked on the lights. Checking the man's pulse, Sakaki confirmed that he wasn't dead, just unconscious.

Chiyo peeked around the door, terrified and breathing quickly. "Is he…dead?"

"No, only unconscious." She stood up, and looked down at him. "Though, it would be good to stop the bleeding." Chiyo stepped out from behind the door, and hopped over his fallen form. She looked the man over, clearly shocked. "I'll, uh…I'll get some towels." She ran off down the hall.

Sakaki bent over and scooped up the discarded pistol. She hadn't ever held one before. She inspected it, and pulled the slide, revealing a bullet in the chamber. She released the slide, letting it spring back into place with a _clack!_ She looked closer, and found what she was looking for. Sakaki flipped the safety to the 'on' position and stuck it in her pocket. Chiyo quickly returned with an armful of towels, and looked worryingly at the fallen intruder. Sakaki assumed she was afraid of blood or something, and took the towels from her. She used a few to soak up the blood on the floor, and tied one around the man's head, covering his nose but leaving room to breathe out his mouth. With a little help from Chiyo, they dragged him downstairs, and tied him to a chair in the T.V. room with some rope Chiyo found in the closet.

"This is wrong Sakaki. I don't understand why we're doing this…"

"I need to know a few things Chiyo, then we'll hand him over to the police. Don't worry, he's unarmed and tied to a chair. You don't need to worry." The two sat there watching the television quietly for quite a while, with the man off in the corner. It was early morning before he showed signs of waking up, as the sun hadn't begun to rise yet.

"Sakaki-san…" Chiyo nudged her friend, who had fallen asleep. "Sakaki-san…"

"Hmm? Wha?"

"I think he's waking up."

"Oh? Turn off the T.V. and pull up a chair if you want. It's time for a little interrogation." Chiyo obliged, and brought a chair over beside Sakaki. They both watched as the man slowly came to, and looked around the room.

"What the hell? Where the f-" Sakaki cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"Careful. There are children present."

"Who the-? Oh shit! You're the girl I'm supposed to take care of!"

"Really? It seems you've done a fine job. Would you mind not swearing though? My friend here is quite a bit younger than both of us."

"Go to hell, b-" He was cut off again, this time when Sakaki slapped him across the face, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Oh I'm sorry. I must've hit your nose. It didn't fare too well against that clay vase earlier. Now," She leaned in a little closer. "Would you mind telling me where your 'boss' is? I need to get in touch with him."

"Oh, he'll be in touch. Might want to watch yourself, he'll send more once he realizes you're still alive."

"That's all?"

The man simply smiled evilly at her. Sakaki stood up, and began to pace around the room. Chiyo followed suit.

"Sakaki-san?"

"He's not going to say anything else." She sighed. "He is right though. Now that they know where I am, they will send more. Both you and I are in danger. Is there anywhere else we can stay?"

"Um, I don't know. I don't have any- Sakaki-san watch out!" Sakaki turned just in time to see the man who was previously tied to the chair leap up and dash towards her. _He must've untied the rope while we were talking_she thought. On instinct, she shoved Chiyo to the side, and turned to counter the threat, but it was too late. The man was already on her. He pulled back and punched her hard in the jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"You should know better than to give a prisoner time to regroup." He chuckled, and looked over to where Chiyo was cowering in the corner. "As punishment," he began to slowly walk towards Chiyo, "I will break your little friend's fingers." He took another step. "One. By. One." He took one more step, then heard a commanding voice behind him.

"Take one more step, and you'll regret it."

"Hah! What're you gonna do?"

Sakaki was in a kneeling position, the silenced pistol held straight out, supported by both hands, aimed at the back of the man's head. An angry yet determined look on her face. She spoke calmly.

"I warned you." Sakaki pulled the trigger, and a muffled cough came from the pistol. A red mist sprouted from the man's forehead, and he fell forward, limp, landing in front of a terrified Chiyo. Sakaki stood up, rubbing her jaw with one hand, gun in the other. She put the safety back on, and stuffed it in her pocket again. She walked over to Chiyo, but paused near the man's corpse. "I didn't want to do have to do that." Ensuring that he was dead, Sakaki held out a hand to Chiyo. The smaller girl took it wordlessly, and stood up. She wasn't crying, but had a shocked expression on her face. Sakaki could see spots of the man's blood on her forehead, which she bent over and wiped off.

"I'm sorry Chiyo-chan, I had no choice. I didn't want to…" Chiyo nodded slowly. Thinking for a moment, Sakaki spoke again. "Wasn't there a vacant house a few blocks away?" The small girl nodded again, still at a loss for words. "We'll hide out there. We'll take as much as we can carry, and Tadakichi-san and Maya too, and hide out there until we meet with the others. It's probably not the best idea to call the police right now, we don't need that kind of attention. It would make it easier for the Grey Men to find us." Chiyo started to cry. She was trembling. "Don't worry, Chiyo-chan, I'll protect you. Unable to hold back any longer, the small girl burst into tears and hugged Sakaki tightly. She held the trembling girl. Sakaki felt horrible that this had happened, but it made no difference now. It was her fault Chiyo got dragged into this, and now she would protect her.

_Why did she have to get pulled into this?_

* * *

**Author's notes: **Wheee! Another chapter done. It would've taken less time if that damn Halo 3 trailer wasn't so good grumble.

One thing first, I've been having the same damn dream for the past week and a half, and its bugging the hell out of me! It's not a nightmare or anything. It's more like what happens when you read a good book, then dream as if you're in it. The thing is, I haven't read any book, nor heard of one, that is anything like this. It's almost as if it's a story idea I came up with in my sleep. I can only remember small parts, but I've been trying to remember more. If I ever can, it'd probably make a good story (not a fanfic, a stand-alone story!). Don't look at me weird, but I swear it's true. Lots of great musicians, artists, even scriptwriters have ideas that come to them in dreams.

Anyway, I just felt like writing that somewhere, and I figured here might be the best place. My family thinks I'm weird enough already. So, I guess that's all for now.

Till next time!


	5. Chapter 4: Armory

**A few opening words: **Alright, I can't really offer up an excuse for keeping you waiting so long. I guess it was a mix of relatives and writer's block. I have all these action scenes in my head, but it's the parts in between that get me, which also somewhat explains the shorter chapter this time. At least it's over 2000 words, which is the lower limit I set for myself.

I rented the movie Déjà Vu and loved it. I like that kind of thing, the story was full of mysteries, and even after watching it, it makes you think. I can now get into a conversation with someone and thoroughly confuse them more than twice as fast as normal. Score! Anyway, enjoy…

* * *

Sakaki hefted two large duffel bags on each shoulder, and a large backpack on her back. Chiyo carried only a smaller duffel bag. She had offered to take more, but Sakaki had refused. Chiyo held open the front door, and locked it after Sakaki was through. The two had come to a decision to hide out in the empty home not far away. They packed what they would need, though Sakaki would have to go out shopping for some clothes. They had non-perishable food, a pair of sleeping bags, a few large jugs of water, some toiletries, some magazines and books, and various other items, some essential, others for other reasons. Tadakichi, Chiyo's dog, followed beside them, Maya sitting contently on his back. They reached the front gate, and after hitting the button it slid open, closing again after they had passed through. Sakaki began to walk down the street, but stopped as Chiyo stared back at her home for a moment. Realizing Sakaki was waiting; she quickly turned and jogged to catch up.

As the pair passed by a black sedan, Sakaki stopped, and looked it over. Peering through the tinted windows, she nodded, as if coming to a conclusion.

"What's up, Sakaki-san?" Sakaki set the bags aside and pulled on the driver's side door handle. Glad that it was unlocked.

"This was that man's car. We can use it." She reached inside and pulled the trunk release. Chiyo shuffled over behind the car to put her bag in the trunk, but stopped short upon seeing into it.

"Whoa…"

"Chiyo-chan? What's wrong?" Sakaki slid out of the car and strode over to the rear of the car. Following Chiyo's gaze, she saw that the trunk was already full. Inside, in a very organized fashion, was a tremendous amount of guns and ammunition, most supported by foam or metal supports. Sakaki noticed and empty slot in the foam, and pulled the pistol out of the back of her pants. She put it back in its place. "Whoa is right." She looked over the arsenal, and pulled out a longer gun with a wide barrel. It was completely black. She looked it over, and brought it up to her shoulder, pointing it away from Chiyo. On the right side of the butt stock, there were 8 red cylinders in plastic slots, extra cartridges for the weapon. Sakaki knew it was a shotgun, she had seen them on the television before. She also knew it was devastating in close range. Sakaki returned the shotgun to its slot, and closed the trunk. "I guess we load the backseat then?"

* * *

The two girls were in high spirits as they unloaded the BMW's contents into the vacant house, which had a garage too. Sakaki had to vault the wall and break open the gate to get in, and Chiyo had to teach Sakaki how to use drive a car with manual transmission, but the two were otherwise unimpeded. Since they had a vehicle, they were able to pack nearly twice as much as they had originally planned. They now had somewhat comfortable bed mats, enough food to almost fill the house's cupboards, plates, cups, and cutlery, plus tons of clothes and other essentials. They also managed to fit in a few board games and books, and various items to occupy their free time.

Once they had all the stuff inside, Chiyo began organizing it all. The two girls weren't sure how long they'd have to live there, so Chiyo thought it would be nice to make the place as homey as possible. While the small girl was inside, Sakaki took the time to park the car in the garage. She took a look around, and found the garage had a sort of storage locker, though it was more of a shed, but inside. It was roughly 4 feet by 6. Sakaki opened the trunk and decided to look over her new found armory, unloading the guns into the storage room, which luckily had two rows of shelves too. There was the one shotgun, a pair of silenced pistols, one of which she had already used, a pair of SMGs, which read MP5 on the side in small font followed by a string of numbers, and lastly there was a larger rifle. It was fairly complex looking, and was about 2 feet long, with the handle and clip sticking out the bottom. There was a small scope on top, with a laser pointer built in, and the magazine was slightly curved forward, and had a second one attached to it, upside down, which she thought was for a quick reload. Upon further inspection, she found the butt stock could be folded in to store easier.

After arranging the weapons in the store room, Sakaki took a closer look at the trunk; it seemed almost too shallow for the car. After a quick search she found a small handle, and pulled. The whole bottom of the trunk lifted out, revealing another compartment with three stainless steel suitcases, two roughly one and a half feet by three, the other larger by about half a foot either way. All three were about 4 inches thick. Sakaki pulled all three out, and noticed that there was still more in the trunk. Reaching further in, she pulled out what seemed to be a bullet proof vest, but it had a ton of pouches and Velcro strips, for holding weapons and ammunition. It also had two holsters for the two pistols, one under each arm. With it, there was a pair of empty black duffel bags. She hung them with the vest on a hook in the storage room and brought the three suitcases around to the front of the car. Sakaki set one of the small ones on the hood, using it as a table. She flipped the two latches keeping it shut, and it sprang open. Inside, strapped to both sides, was ammunition. There were at least four boxes of shotgun shells, four full of bullets for the MP5s and four for the pistols. There was another three for the rifle. These were all strapped to the bottom, but the top was lined with magazines for the MP5s, pistols, and the rifle. She checked, and they were all full. Closing the case, she set it aside, grabbing the second smaller one. It flipped open just the same, but instead of being filled with ammunition, it contained various tools and attachments for the weapons. There was a pair of silencers for the NP5s, what looked like laser pointers, two butt stocks for the MP5s, a few different scopes for the rifle, and two 8 inch blades, obviously for use when combat was too close for guns.

Sakaki took out the two knives, which were both in sheaths, and pulled one out. The blade was slightly curved, with a serrated edge near the end, similar to a combat knife used by the military. Without paying attention, she began to spin it in her hand, and between her fingers. Without thinking, she twirled the knife around, the blade almost a blur. It was an odd feeling; her body seemed to just take over, the blade tracing lazy arcs in the air in front of her. Sakaki felt calm, almost at peace as she arced the blade faster and faster, a constant whistling reached her ears as the blade sliced through the air. She moved her body with the blade, as if she were dancing to an unknown beat, her partner the deadly edge of the knife. It seemed as if she could go on like this forever, until she heard a rustling by the door. In one smooth move she spun the blade around and sheathed it, placing it back in the suitcase. Turning to the door, Sakaki saw Chiyo standing there, her eyes wide in awe, clearly speechless. Sakaki looked at her, startled, fumbling for words in her mind. Finally, she gave up and simply shut the case. She set the smaller two in the storage room, closing the door behind her, and took the largest inside with her. Chiyo followed her in, still with the same look on her face.

Inside, Chiyo had set up the small foldable table. Luckily the place was carpeted, so it wasn't entirely uncomfortable to sit on the floor. Sakaki sat down, and Chiyo went into the kitchen, returning with a tray containing tea and some sushi. She set the suitcase aside, intending to look inside after eating. Chiyo sat down as well, and started on her food.

"What's in that case, Sakaki-san?"

"Not sure, probably more weapons or something."

"That man sure had a lot of weapons. What did he need them for I wonder?"

"He was probably one of the Grey Men's top assassins or something, which would explain all the equipment."

After a long silence, Chiyo spoke up again. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"What you were doing earlier, with the knife. I've never seen anything like that. It was amazing."

"I don't know, it was as if my body took over. Maybe I had martial arts training in the past or something. You'd probably know more than I do, I'm the one with the memory loss."

"Yeah. You were always the quiet one. I can't say I'm surprised though, you were always the best at sports and stuff."

Sakaki finished off the last of her food, and wiped her mouth. "That was very tasty, thank you." The small girl smiled, and began to clean up. "By the way, where did the animals go anyway?"

"They're in one of the bedrooms sleeping."

"I see. Well, what do you say we take a look inside this last suitcase?"

"Sure." Chiyo set down the tray, and kneeled beside Sakaki. Sakaki set the case on its side, and flipped the latches. It sprang open like the others, and inside was what looked like pieces to a rifle, but it wasn't put together. There was a long barrel, a large scope, a few magazines and a box of large bullets, and the main section of the gun.

"It looks like you have to put it together. Looks complicated."

"It's probably like this so you can carry it easier. Chiyo-chan, do you think you could put it together? You'd be better at this sort of thing than me, anyway."

"I doubt that, but sure. I always liked puzzles!"

"Great, just be careful with it. It is a weapon after all. I'll go and organize the storage room. I'll be back in a few minutes, and we can go shopping for more supplies." Sakaki wasn't sure whether the little girl heard her or not, as she was already engrossed in the many pieces of the rifle. Sakaki smiled, but she was also sad. Chiyo seemed so cheerful, despite what had happened, and what was probably going to happen. Looking back at the sight, she laughed. _A 12 year old assembling a rifle. What an odd sight._

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I could've kept this going, but it would've taken a lot longer, so here you are. There will be more action soon enough. FYI, if you didn't catch it, the rifle I was trying to describe (not the one in the suitcase) was an M4, the tactical one that SWAT guys normally use. That kind of thing. And the suitcase rifle is one of those sniper rifles that can be disassembled, like the ones in James Bond, and other spy movies. That kind of thing. I figured Chiyo would be good at putting things together, so… Oh, on the subject of Chiyo, I couldn't remember what age she would be by now (after graduation), so I put 12. If she's older, let me know.

Also, is it just me or does the word foldable soud really wierd? Lets say it together, **foldable**. See what I mean? Almost as wierd/funny as periwinkle, but not quite. Anyway, till next time…

It won't be as long a wait, I swear!


	6. Chapter 5:  Shopping

**A few opening words: **Sorry for the long delay, there's a lot going on round here. I have also been writing another fanfic on the side, which has sorta interfered a bit with my schedule for this one. Anyway, I won't keep you waiting anymore. Enjoy…

* * *

Sakaki stood, her hands on her hips, in the doorway of the storage room. Looking over her arsenal, she mentally listed the weapons and the situations they were most effective in. After running through the list several times, she decided that the knives would be the best weapons to take when she and Chiyo went shopping. Their shape would make them easy to conceal, and they were quiet, unlike a gun. Even though Sakaki herself didn't know how to use them effectively, her body did, and she trusted her body. She figured that she must've had martial arts training in the past, and her training became part of her instincts. This would explain why she was able to use them without knowing how.

Sakaki shifted her thoughts to how she would conceal the two knives. They had 8 inch blades, and the handle was roughly 4 inches long, making the whole thing about a foot in length. She couldn't strap them to her thighs, there was no way to conceal them there, nor did she have any tall boots to hide them in. If her hair was still as long as she had been told it was, she might have been able to use it to hide the knives. Sighing, Sakaki reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. Raising her arms up, she stretched her tired muscles. The two girls hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, for obvious reasons. Glancing over at her raised arms, it hit her like a ton of bricks. The perfect way to hide the knives.

Sakaki dashed inside, and into the bedroom where they put their clothes. Even though she didn't have any of her own, aside from what she was wearing, they were able to make due with a few pieces of Chiyo's mom's clothes that fit. It wasn't much, a pair of slacks and a few T-shirts. They hadn't bothered trying the underwear, Chiyo had insisted that they wouldn't fit Sakaki's 'physique' as she had put it. It didn't matter, they'd get some when they went shopping. Rummaging through the bags, she quickly found what she was looking for. It was a shirt with sleeves too long to be a T-shirt, yet too short to be long sleeved. They would come down to just past her elbow. _Good,_ she thought, _it's the right length._ Sakaki ran back towards the garage, but stopped briefly as she passed by the living room. Chiyo was hard at work, so much so that she didn't even notice Sakaki run by. From what she could see, Chiyo had most of the rifle already assembled; she could see the rifle leaning against her shoulder. Deciding not to bother her, Sakaki continued to the garage.

Sakaki walked into the garage at a brisk pace, throwing off the long sleeve shirt she was wearing long the way, knowing full well she wasn't wearing any underwear. It didn't bother her though, there was no one in the house other than Chiyo, and she was a girl. Sakaki set the shirt aside and grabbed one of the knives, the blade secured firmly in its sheath. She took it, sheath and all, and held it against the inside of her bicep, handle towards the elbow . It was the perfect length. She wound the attached straps around her arm and pulled them tight, strapping the other to her other arm. Sakaki swung her arms around; it wasn't overly uncomfortable. The blade end of the sheath rested against her armpit, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. The handle came down to just before the elbow, unnoticeable unless someone looked closely. Sakaki pulled the shirt on, and was pleased to find that it fit loosely on her arms, helping concealing the knives well. The sleeve length was good too, covering the knives with some room to spare. She crossed her arms and took hold of the two knives. In one fluid motion, she pulled back her sleeves and drew them, one in each hand. Reversing the motion, she sheathed both at the same time. Sakaki repeated the exercise several times, until she was comfortable with it. _Perfect._

Sakaki returned to the living room, where she found Chiyo looking through the rifle's scope. The weapon itself was complete, minus the scope, and was sitting upright on the table, supported by the attacked tripod. Chiyo turned and looked at Sakaki through the scope.

"Hehe, I can see your nose hairs Sakaki!" She laughed.

"Was it easy to put together?"

"Yeah, took less than a minute once I figured out how it worked. It seems to be built like this, so it can be taken apart and reassembled easy, like the ones in those spy movies. The scope has tons of zoom too!"

"Less than a minute? What have you been doing the rest of the time?"

"Practicing assembling it. Also, I was tinkering with the scope. It was a little out of focus, but I fixed it." She quickly attached the scope to the rifle. "I hope you don't have to use it, it looks quite deadly."

"Me too, Chiyo-chan. Now, what do you say we go do some shopping?" Chiyo's eyes lit up.

"Great! I can pick up some groceries to fill the fridge, and-" Sakaki cut her off.

"This place has a fridge?"

"Yeah, the people who moved out must've left it here. As I was saying, I can get some stuff and make us some _real _ food!" Her expression darkened. "But didn't you say we shouldn't go out? That the Grey Men would be looking for us?"

"We won't have to worry. They wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything in public, in the middle of the day. Besides," She paused, and quickly drew both knives, falling into a fighting stance at the same time. "I think I can protect us."

* * *

So far, all their shopping had gone as planned. They had picked up everything Chiyo thought they would need – and a little more – at the grocery store. They had also picked up a small LCD TV, only 18 inches, a DVD player, some movies, a few books and board games. The store clerk at the grocery store was nice enough to let them have a shopping cart too, so all they actually had to carry was the backpacks and what was in them. Looking over their supply of food, Sakaki still thought it was a lot. When she queried Chiyo on it , she answered "Because Sakaki-san is a big girl, and big people need more food." Her tone made it sound like a mother talking to a child. Sakaki was in awe of the girl. She seemed so innocent now, yet at other times showed the maturity of someone twice her age, particularly the night before. Sakaki checked her mental list; all they had left to do was pick up some clothes for Sakaki, and something that could conceal weapons easily. She didn't let Chiyo in on that last detail.

The whole time they were shopping, Sakaki's head was on a swivel, constantly alert for any sign that they were being watched or followed. It was unnecessary, but she didn't want to put Chiyo in any danger. To tell the truth, she was a little worried that they might be spotted, but she didn't tell Chiyo. Almost at random the small girl stopped walking. They were standing in front of an arcade, and out front was a Crane game filled with stuffed animals. Sakaki looked at Chiyo quizzically. Chiyo looked at the machine, then back at Sakaki.

"Is something wrong, Chiyo?"

"No, nothing. It's just that, before what happened, you used to be all over cute things and stuffed animals. And now, you've changed. You're more serious, and talkative, than you were. You're still you, but it's like something's missing. It's just…different…"

Sakaki sighed, and knelt down beside Chiyo. She put her hand on Chiyo's shoulder. "Look Chiyo, no matter what happens, I'll always be me. Even if I've forgotten most of my past, and all about you guys, that doesn't mean it's lost forever. I'm sure I'll recover my memory eventually, so you shouldn't worry." Chiyo seemed to cheer up a bit. "Anyway, I think I see a store with what we're looking for up ahead."

Sakaki had been right about the store. It did have everything she was looking for. Right now, she was looking for the last item, the one she didn't tell Chiyo about. Chiyo was currently saving their place in line at the cashiers, a line that was quite long too. Sakaki looked through a coat rack, frowning. There was nothing that would work. But then she turned, and saw exactly what she wanted. Worn by a mannequin was a long black fabric trench coat, only a few pockets on the outside, but had tons on the inside. It seemed to be the only one the store had, so she pulled it off the mannequin and put it on herself. Sakaki smiled, it was a perfect fit. Sakaki made a few quick movements, similar to what she would be doing in a fight, and was pleased to find that the lightweight fabric didn't restrict her movement at all. She was about to take it off to go and pay for it, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Ya look dangerous there, miss Sakaki." Sakaki turned, and was met with the usual vacant stare of Ayumu Kasuga, more commonly known as Osaka. "What do you mean, Ayumu-chan?"

"Something about the way you moved back there, and your eyes…" She stared into Sakaki's eyes. It was an odd feeling, it was almost unsettling. _Now I know why dogs hate this_, she thought. "Hey, you just called me Ayumu-chan!" Sakaki was floored by her comment.

"Um…yeah, that is your name, right?"

"Yes, but everyone calls me Osaka. Call me Ayumu though, I like it more."

"Sure, Ayumu. I better get going, Chiyo-chan is probably waiting. You want to come?"

"I can't, I have important business ta take care of. I'll see you guys tomorrow, with everyone else."

"Bye, Ayumu-chan. See you…" Sakaki didn't bother to finish. Ayumu wasn't listening. She was in deep concentration, apparently unable to decide between the two shirts she held, despite the fact that they were the same in every way. Sakaki shook her head in confusion, and headed for the cashiers.

Sakaki arrived at the cashier and was pleased to find that there was no longer a line. She set the coat on the counter, and went to take out her money.

"You wanna buy this?"

Sakaki stopped, and looked at the woman behind the counter. She wore a card that said Manager on it.

"Yes. How much?"

"It's very expensive." She showed Sakaki the price tag, which she hadn't seen. Sakaki didn't have nearly enough money. She sighed, and went to take it back to the shelf, but was stopped by the manager.

"Wait. You're the first person I've met who wanted to buy this and didn't even hassle over the price. Christ, that thing's been here for years. Tell ya what, I'll give it to you."

"Really?"

"Sure. I've grown tired of staring on it. And you're also the first girl I've seen that might actually look good in it too."

"Wow…thank you!"

"Just be sure to come back whenever you need any more clothes, ya hear?"

"I will. Have a nice day!"

"You too dear!"

As Sakaki left the store, she heard the store clerk mumble to herself. "Such a nice girl…"

Chiyo was waiting outside with their cart, humming to herself. Sakaki approached, and she looked up.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Sakaki-san?"

"Yes. Lets head back, shall we?"

"Hai!"

Sakaki fell into step with Chiyo. The small girl hummed to herself, not a care in the world. Sakaki on the other hand, was ever vigilant. No one would be stupid enough to attack them. Not on her watch.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I don't like how this chapter ended either, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. Anyway, the next chapter might be a while, I'll be away for the weekend (family reunion). I'll try to write some while I'm there.

Also, in the next few minutes, I'll be posting the prologue to the fanfic I've been writing on the side. It's for Azumanga Daioh also, and takes a different path than both of my other fics. Anyway, it won't be updated as often till this one and the other are done. Basically, I just wanted to put up _something_. Keep an eye out for it if you like.

Anyway, till next time…


	7. Chapter 6: Training

**A few opening words:** Long time no see, eh? I have returned home from my cottage at last, and will now be able to put this up, after many delays. After this, I have like four pages of ideas to write into chapters for my newest fic, Ragnarok: Sword of Legends. I know I said it was an on-the-side thing, but the scenery was just right for the fic, and I got so many ideas! Anyway, less stalling, more chapter. Enjoy...

* * *

Sakaki couldn't sleep. In fact, she wasn't even tired. It had been this way since she woke up from her coma. She thought it might be because when in a coma, you're essentially sleeping, and after sleeping for two months, you aren't very tired anymore. Sakaki quickly dismissed that idea. She knew the reason. She would be forever restless until she had her revenge, until Shuji, leader of the Grey Men, lay dead at her feet, or the other way around. Another reason might be nightmares of that dreadful night, but that took second place. She clenched her teeth in anger, and stabbed one of her knives into the living room floor beside where she sat, leaned against the wall.

Sakaki and Chiyo had arrived back at their impromptu safe house without much grief; the shopping cart given to them by the one store helped greatly. After unpacking, and eating a large meal, they had set up the small T.V. to check the news. Luckily, the cable for the house still worked. There was nothing new, other than the dead body being found in Chiyo's house. The police had been tipped by an anonymous neighbor who had heard the gunshots, who, in reality, was Sakaki. No questions were asked about the Mihama family however, as they were all away on a trip, according to the information the news reporter had been given. _Well, that'll certainly scare the gang,_ she had thought. Sakaki doubted it though; unsure if any of them would've actually watched the news.

Following the news, Sakaki had engaged Chiyo in some of the games they had bought, playing Chess, Crazy-8's, and Yahtzee. Sakaki won at both Chess and Crazy-8's, though Chiyo had a lucky streak during Yahtzee and had won the game in less than five rolls. They then proceeded to feed the animals, and set up their portable futons in one of the bedrooms. Chiyo fell quickly asleep, and Sakaki waited for a short while to confirm before leaving the bedroom. She made a quick stop in the kitchen for a bottle of water, then into the garage to grab the gun toolkit, or so she called it, taking the two pistols along as well. The knives were still in their sheathes strapped to the inside of her biceps. Sakaki didn't plan to remove them; she was getting used to them being there, and it was starting to get comfortable as well. Having gathered all she would need to keep occupied, she picked a place along the wall of the living room and slid down it into the position she was now in.

Sakaki sighed, and stabbed the second knife in beside the first. She opened the steel briefcase and pulled it up beside her. She took one of the two pistols and began to fiddle with it, slowly taking it apart piece-by-piece, memorizing where each one went so she could put it back together later. 10 minutes passed, then 20, then a full hour. Sakaki looked down in front of her crossed legs. She had laid out all the parts to the pistol and organized them, making it easy to find the one she would need. Reaching over into the briefcase, she took out a small can of oil and a cotton cloth. Sakaki methodically worked her way through each part; cleaning, oiling, and assembling them as she went. An hour later and she had the gun back in one piece, all cleaned and ready for use. Two more hours passed by, and the second silenced pistol was re-assembled and cleaned. Sakaki placed both in their slots in the case, and latched it shut. She finished off the bottle of water in one swig - there wasn't much left – and leaned back against the wall again, stretching her legs out in front of her. She still wasn't in the least bit tired, and it was already 3 am.

Sakaki looked around the room for something to do. She spotted the sniper rifle, and crawled over to the table. She picked it up, resting the stock against her shoulder in a firing position as she looked down the scope. It was light, very light, weighing as little as one of the MP5s, maybe even less. She looked it over, and quickly disassembled it, returning the pieces to their places in the large brief case. Now robbed of another activity, Sakaki stood and surveyed the room. Her eyes fell on the two knives, sticking up in the floor. She snatched them up and sheathed them, having decided what she would do. Sakaki made her way to the second bedroom, which was empty save for Mayaa and Tadakichi in the corner. Mayaa mewed softly and looked up at her drowsily. Sakaki half closed the door, and took off her nightshirt – the only thing she was wearing – and threw it into the corner. Since she was the only one up, it wouldn't matter anyway. Being naked allowed her to move freely, without anything constricting movement. Sakaki drew both knives in a flash, and instantly went into a complex series of exercises she either made up on the fly or half remembered from past training. Mayaa simply curled up into a ball on Tadakichi's back, silently watching Sakaki perform her deadly art.

* * *

Chiyo woke up and looked over at the alarm clock she had picked up the day before. It was 9:37am. She'd been asleep for a little over 11 hours; a lot longer than she normally did. _Then again, I didn't get much sleep the night before..._ she thought. She counted herself lucky for not having nightmares about that night. Not wanting to dwell on the matter, she quickly pulled herself out of bed and changed out of her pajamas, noting that Sakaki was not there. _She must've woken up earlier._

Chiyo yawned as she left the bedroom, and made her way to the kitchen. She filled the electric tea kettle and plugged it in, pulling the sugar and teabags out of the cupboard. _The tea's going to taste good this morning!_ Chiyo sat in one if the small wooden chairs that were left in the house, and waited. She could hear muffled thumps - sounding like someone was dancing or something – coming from the second bedroom. _It's probably __Sakaki__-san, _she thought, _I wonder what she's doing in there?_ Chiyo was about to go check, when the water came to a boil and the kettle began whistling.

"Ah! Tea's water's ready!" Chiyo jumped up, and pulled tow teacups and saucers out of the cupboard. She poured water in each and dropped in two teabags. Taking one in each hand, she made her way to the second bedroom to give one to Sakaki. Upon approaching the door, she heard the same shuffling and thumping footsteps as before, as well as some heavy breathing. She noticed the door was left half open, and peered inside. Peering through the half open door she was somewhat surprised at what she saw, for multiple reasons. In the center of the room was Sakaki – completely naked – performing what looked like a complex sword dance or something, only with the knives. She was breathing heavily and sweating. _Could she have been up all night doing this?_ Chiyo was not only surprised at what she was doing, but the fact that she was naked as well. Sakaki had always been uncomfortable about her body, so this was out of the ordinary for her. taller girl a chance to change, Chiyo knocked on the half open door.

"Chiyo-chan?" Sakaki called out, between breaths. "Come in!"

Chiyo slowly opened the door, and as she did, Sakaki finished off her exercise with a complicated twirl, releasing both knives nigh simultaneously. The knives whizzed by Chiyo and embedded themselves in a bull's eye scratched into the far wall, less than an inch apart. Multiple vertical lines on the target suggested Sakaki had been practicing to get this good. Clearly exhausted, the tall girl picked up her nightshirt and toweled the sweat off her brow, quickly removing the knives from the wall and returning them to their sheathes as well.

"I brought you some tea…"

"Ah…thank you…"

Sakaki threw the shirt over her shoulder and accepted the tea, taking a long sip. "I think I'm going to have a shower." With that, she handed back the now empty teacup and left for the washroom, stopping in the bedroom for clothing on the way.

* * *

"So you were up all night, Sakaki-san?"

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Well, I guess cause I wasn't tired."

"Really? But you haven't slept in three days! And you just came out of a coma!"

"Well, whatever the reason, I haven't been tired. And if I try to force myself to sleep, I get… nightmares."

"Nightmares? Oh, of the… of what happened?" Sakaki was quiet for a moment, pain showing in her face.

"…yeah."

"I see. Well…is there anything I can do to help?"

"I doubt it. Probably the best thing would be to keep my mind off it. Kinda hard to do when half the time all I can think about is revenge on that Shuji bastard."

"Sakaki-san…" Chiyo was taken aback by her friend's sudden little outburst. _She seems to have gotten more aggressive since the incident as well. __Must be due to her memory loss._ "Um, alright then! I've been wondering, where did you learn to do that… dance thing with the knives?"

"Oh, that? It's not really a dance, though it may look like one. It's kind of a training thing I cooked up on my own. But from the beginning, I dunno. I must've had training a while back in martial arts or something. Not that I can remember of course."

"Well, it looks very professional. You were pretty accurate throwing them as well."

"Thanks. That was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, until I realized it would be good to have ranged ability when fighting with knives. Now, on the subject of weaponry, we need to figure out something you could use to defend yourself, in the event that I'm not there."

"Me? Defend myself?" Chiyo was bewildered. How would she be able to hurt someone? How would she be able to bring herself to do it, mentally _and _physically? She wasn't the most athletic girl you've ever seen.

"Wait here, Chiyo-chan." Sakaki stood up and went into the garage. She opened the unlocked BMW's passenger side door, and looked around the interior. _I know I saw it here somewhere…_ She checked under the seats, and all around, before finally remembering the glove compartment. "Ah!" The object she was looking for fell right into her hand. Objective in hand, she jogged back into the living room and set it down on the table.

"Sakaki-san… what's that?"

"This," she said, picking up the object. It looked like the handle of a small knife. "Is a switchblade." Sakaki pulled the two halves of the handle apart and folded them back onto themselves, producing a small 3 inch blade that was previously encased in the handle. "Instead of a sheath, the handle is cut in half and hinged, making the handle itself the sheath. It's very portable." Sakaki folded it back up again and tossed it back onto the table in front of Chiyo.

"Um… I don't know how to use one of these…"

"Well, I can sort of train you, with what little I know. I don't want you to have to use it, but it would be a good idea to learn."

"You mean you'll teach me to do what I saw you do in the bedroom this morning?" Chiyo was both excited and a little scared about this. At the moment though, she relished the fact that she'd learn to do something cool, like Sakaki-san!

"Yes. Well, first of all, you know how to work it right?" Chiyo flipped out the blade, almost cutting herself. Sakaki gave her a stern look.

"It's ok to be enthusiastic, but it _is _a knife, so be careful. Now, I guess I'll ask you where you want to start?" Chiyo thought for a moment. With her small stature, she'd probably be quick and nimble enough to manage close quarters fighting, but she wasn't confident she would be able to overpower anyone or beat anyone who was trained, like the Grey Men. She settled on her choice.

"Teach me to throw it, like you do!" Sakaki-san let out a small chuckle, and in one quick, fluid movement she drew and threw one of her knives. It thudded dead center the tip buried in the wall up to a half an inch deep, into one of the few old paintings the house's previous owners left behind. Ironically, the painting was of a mean looking man giving whoever the viewer was a mean look. The knife had hit him right between the eyes.

Chiyo gasped. _Wow! She didn't even pause before throwing! She's so cool!_

"Like that?" She said, with a small smile on her face. Chiyo answered excitedly.

"Yeah! Like that! I wanna do that!"

"Alright then! But it's not easy. We have until tomorrow at noon to train you, at least partly, because that is when we are meeting the others in the park, remember?" Chiyo had almost forgot. "Now, I hope you slept well, cause this may drag on into the night." Sakaki thought for a moment. "Also… I did notice a First Aid kit under the front seat of the car, should we need it."

* * *

**Author's notes: **Phew! There we go! A little into their minds, about what's happened, how they feel, and their changing/changed personalities! Wowee!

Alright, I know I said this'll be pretty violent/action packed, and it will! But it's still early on, so just wait. I promise, the next chapter will have some _action_ in it. And no, that was not innuendo. You're a sick person if you think it was. Seriously.

I mean I couldn't write that stuff even if I tried. I might do a one off sometime before I try anything, but don't get your hopes up, cause it won't be for a long while if anything!

Now about the action. Yes there will be action. And I'm talking _Die Hard _style. Yeah, that awesome.

Alright, that's enough self-inflation for tonight. Hope you're enjoying the story!

Till next time!


	8. Chapter 7: Planning

**Made a little mistake posting this. I put up a chapter to a different story. Sorry about that.****  
**

**A few opening words: **Alright, This will probably be the only time I update this in a while, since I'm still on a streak with Ragnarok: Sword of Legends. However, I figured since I hadn't updated this in a while I might as well treat you guys with a chapter before continuing with the other one. Enjoy.

* * *

"Sakaki-san! We have to go, or we'll be late!" 

"I'll be right there Chiyo-chan!" Sakaki took one brief look around the storage room, and then grabbed one of the silenced pistols out of the briefcase, closing and latching it quickly. She shut the door, and shoved the weapon in the back of her pants. She had chosen to wear the same shirt as the day before, and a pair of jeans. Both were loose enough to cover up a weapon. Luckily, the gun didn't feel too uncomfortable; it fit neatly in the small of her back.

It was currently 10:30am, and they were due to meet their friends in the park near Chiyo's at 11am. It wasn't that far of a walk, the house they had chosen to hide out in was only a block away from Chiyo's place. Nevertheless, Sakaki wanted to arrive earlier than the others, so that she could survey the place, get to know it and the exits. She wanted to be sure they had a quick way out if the Grey Men showed up, which was a very real possibility. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she put her friends in a situation where they could get seriously hurt, or worse.

It was a relatively short walk to the park, as to be expected. On the way, Sakaki reflected on the previous night's experiences while Chiyo rode on Tadakichi's back with Mayaa. She had taught Chiyo the throwing technique she had sort of taught herself, and the girl had caught on very quickly, much to Sakaki's surprise. Chiyo had been very enthusiastic as well, not giving up when she couldn't manage to get the technique right. She had spent most of the night trying, but finally managed to throw it right, so that the blade would hit the target and not the handle. Sakaki had held off on teaching her the hand to had stuff, she figured it was best to have her master the throwing so she would never have to get in close to her opponent. Besides, Sakaki wouldn't allow her to get into that kind of situation anyway. Soon enough, they arrived at the park, ten minutes early.

Sakaki led Chiyo to a group of benches off the regular path. It must have been a sitting area, or maybe a picnic area. It was separated from the main path, and hard to see if you didn't know where to look. It was exactly what she wanted. After telling Chiyo to wait there, she went and stood at the edge of the main path to wait for the others and direct them to their meeting place. To pass the time, she took out one of her knives and began twirling it around in her hand. She wasn't sure why she kept doing this, but it seemed to calm her down. Before long, she spotted a pair of people walking down the path. They got closer, and she identified them as Kagura and Ayumu. She quickly returned the knife to its sheath and waved to them. Kagura saw her and waved back.

"Oi! Sakaki! How's the head doing?"

"Much better, thank you."

"No, I meant... ah, never mind." Sakaki turned to Ayumu, who seemed to be staring off into nothing.

"How have you been, Ayumu-chan?"

"Oh, you know... the usual..."

"She's like that sometimes. You may not remember, but this is normal for her. It's actually weird when she _isn't _like this, if you can believe that," Kagura explained. Sakaki soon noticed that the other three girls hadn't yet arrived, and it was already ten minutes after their arranged time.

"Kagura, where are the others?"

"Tomo was forced to go to some family reunion thing, and somehow she managed to drag Yomi with her. She said they wouldn't be back for at least a week, and that they're sorry for missing you guys. And Kaorin, she said something about having to attend some seminar or something, as a prerequisite for her astronomy courses in University. It'll take her until school starts. She seemed very sad about not coming." In truth, Sakaki was relieved that so few of her friends had come; this would mean less would be in danger. She motioned to the two girls to follow her, and soon they were all sitting on the benches.

"So Sakaki, tell us, what have you been up to the past few days."

"Well, as you know I went to stay with Chiyo-chan. The night we got home though, the Grey Men came after us. Me actually. I guess their leader, a person named Shuji, wanted to finish the job. They sent an assassin after us."

"No shit? Really? What did you do?"

"Well, um, I managed to fight him off and knock him out. We tried to get information out of him, but he wouldn't budge. He broke free when I wasn't paying attention, and would have hurt Chiyo-chan, had I not...had I not..." Sakaki was having a bit of trouble finishing.

"Had you not what?"

"I shot him."

"What?" Kagura was dumbfounded.

"I shot him. In the head. I killed him, Kagura."

"You... killed... With what?" Sakaki reached around her back and drew out the silenced pistol to show Kagura.

"With his. I took it off him when he was unconscious."

"Holy shit... damn... Well, what next." Sakaki continued the story, with Chiyo beside her with the animals, and Ayumu and Kagura listening intently. She wasn't sure if Ayumu was really listening though, it was hard to tell.

"We left her house, and took the man's car. We found an abandoned home a block away and sort of moved in there. In the trunk of the car, I found an arsenal of weapons, so at least we'll be well protected when the Grey Men come again. Anyway, the past few days we lived like we normally would have, albeit more cautious when we went out for supplies. And then we met here."

"Wow. So, why didn't you stay in Chiyo's mansion?"

"The Grey Men knew where it was; it wasn't safe there anymore."

"Good point." Kagura looked to be in deep thought for a moment. "Well then, whatever you plan on doing, you can count me in. I'm sure Osaka will help too; she's surprisingly good at abstract thinking, and could help come up with a plan."

"Ayumu." Kagura looked over at Ayumu. "Please, no more Osaka. We are out of High School and I kind of want to be called by my name."

"Sorry, Ayumu then. Anyway, count us in!" Kagura raised her hand in a mock cheer, as did Ayumu.

"Thank you, both of you. But I don't even have a plan yet, not even an idea. But I will tell you this, he _will _pay, for taking my family, and my memories away. That is for certain. I must warn you though, it will be dangerous."

"I know. We are dealing with a gang after all. But what about Chiyo?"

"I'll be protecting her. Also, I have been teaching her a few things..." Chiyo perked up at the mention of her name. Kagura looked over at her questioningly. The small girl flipped out the switchblade and spun it quickly around in her hand before returning it to her pocket. Kagura was surprised, to say the least.

"Oh man! Now that is just too cool! You taught Chiyo how to wield a knife?!" Chiyo blushed.

"Well, not really. Only a few things, like the twirling exercise and a few things about throwing.

"I'm not very good..." Chiyo added. Before anyone else could add anything more, Sakaki butted in.

"If you all don't mind, we should head back to the hide-out, as you would call it. That way we don't risk getting seen by them." Everyone was in agreement, and they left for the house.

* * *

"So, how are we gonna go about bringing down the second most powerful gang in Tokyo? That's a pretty daunting task." Sakaki didn't answer. Everyone seemed to be in deep thought for a while. No one even touched the tea Chiyo had made. Then, Ayumu of all people came up with an idea. 

"Hey, why don't we work from the ground up?"

"Huh? Ground up?" Kagura was clearly confused. Chiyo seemed to have caught on though.

"Hey yeah! That's a great idea! We work through their ranks from the bottom up. You know, go for his Generals or high ranking members first, then after the leader himself!"

"Chiyo, you're starting to scare me..." Kagura said, almost shifting away from the too-enthusiastic girl. Chiyo simply smiled.

"Ayumu, and Chiyo, that will be our plan. Great job. Our only problem is how do we find out who and where these 'higher ups' are." Sakaki stated. Chiyo already had the solution.

"Sakaki-san, didn't the car have a GPS system or onboard computer? Maybe it has a list of names or addresses?"

"Well, it's worth a look. I'll go check, you guys wait here." Sakaki walked out to the garage, and opened the car. Sure enough, there was a GPS system. She tapped the on button and it sprang to life. She navigated the menus and sure enough, she found an address book. It contained four names, each with a corresponding number. She selected one, and the screen changed to a map, showing directions to the selected person's location. It was a restaurant/bar downtown, called Sushi Deluxe. _Chiyo-chan, you are amazing._ Before she left, she noticed gold stars beside each name on the list, ranging from one to four. The person she selected only had one by his name. _This must be their ranking in the gang. _She walked back into the living room.

"Chiyo-chan is correct, there seems to be four of them. The first hides out in a restaurant downtown called the Sushi Deluxe. He's probably low ranking, so I should be able to do it myself. You three stay here, out of danger. I will return shortly." Sakaki went to the bedroom quickly and put on the trench coat she had bought for this situation. She then went to the storage room in the garage, and opened up the case that contained the pistols. She pulled the one she already had from the back of her pants and set it aside. She took out the two holsters that were in the briefcase and strapped them to her thighs, one on each. They would be concealed by the coat. Sakaki slipped the guns into their holsters, making sure they were loaded. She also grabbed a pair of extra magazines, in case she ran out of ammunition. Grabbing the keys along the way, she opened the garage door and stepped into the car. For a brief moment, she thought about what she was going to do. _I'm going to kill a man. Probably more than one. _She was hesitant to start the engine, almost afraid of what she was going to do. But then she countered those thoughts. _But, the man has done bad things. And my family can't be brought back. _Once convinced, she started the car and put it in gear. Her plan was set into motion; there was no stopping it now.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Alright, a little lead up to things to come. Also, I had to write out Tomo, Yomi, and Kaorin for this fic. I hope it doesn't put anyone off, but I couldn't make them fit in the story. Besides it would have been this or kill them off later on, and I doubt you all would like that, would you? Anyway, I have interesting plans for the others, and you might like a few of them. I do, especially one revolving around a certain character. But you guys will have to wait and find out! Tee hee! 

Till next time!


	9. Chapter 8: Action

**A few opening words:**Wow, an update? Surprise! I have finally put my ideas in order, and will now continue and finish Memories Lost. It was one of those times where you know/have written the beginning and the end, but are at a loss for the middle. Well, now I have the middle, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Stupid middle, getting in the way of the end…

* * *

The Sushi Deluxe was located on the outskirts of the commercial sector, no more than a 20 minute drive from the hideout. Sakaki backed the black BMW into a deserted alleyway, where it would remain concealed until she needed it. She stepped out, and buttoned up two middle buttons on the trench coat, just so that it would conceal the pistols better. Crossing the street, Sakaki peered into the window of the Sushi Deluxe, trying to look as casual as possible. The area was somewhat busy at this time of night, and luckily everyone passed her by. Inside, the restaurant was roughly half full, and in a back corner, she saw an older man, probably in his late 50s, eating a steak, flanked by two men dressed in tuxedoes. _That has to be him. But how do I get to him without drawing too much attention?_

Before Sakaki could come up with a plan, the perfect solution presented itself. She watched as the man stood up, and hurriedly made his way to the washroom, followed closely by his two henchmen, one of which remained outside the door. _Now's my chance._ When no one was looking, Sakaki darted into the small alley beside the restaurant, and made her way around behind the building. Behind the restaurant, there was a single door, most likely leading to the kitchens, and on either side was a small window about 6 feet above the ground. Both were open, and from the looks of it, both lead to the washrooms; the nearest being the men's. The washrooms being beside the kitchen's would provide Sakaki with some cover, in the form of the sound of dozens of underpaid workers in the room next door working overtime.

Sakaki took a few steps back, and ran at the wall. Planting one foot on the wall, she pushed herself up and grabbed onto the windowsill. It was just big enough for her to fit through, but before she did that, Sakaki pulled herself up enough to see through the window. Inside, the bathroom contained a row of urinals along one wall, and four cubicles along the other. She could see her target in the second to last one. The only other person in the room was the bodyguard, and his back was to the window, much to Sakaki's relief. A plan formed in her head, and she wasted no time to implement it.

Using her athletic body to her advantage, she pulled torso through the window as quietly as possible. Since the window was so small, the only way through was head first. Bracing herself, Sakaki threw her hands forward as she fell the rest of the way through the window. Using her hands, she transferred her body from a head first fall to a quick shoulder roll, and she was on her feet in an instant, with a knife at the ready. Her luck seemed to be holding; the henchman had yet to notice her.

Hoping to keep silent, Sakaki dashed forward and wrapped her arm around the man's head, covering his mouth forcefully so he couldn't make a sound. He started to struggle, but Sakaki ended his attempts to escape with a quick slash of her knife across his throat. All at once his strength ebbed, and reduced to nothing. Sakaki laid him down on the floor gently, letting him drown in his own blood. Sakaki wiped the blood off her knife with his tux, and sheathed it. She turned and swiftly approached the stall her target was in. Sakaki stepped back, and forcefully kicked the door in. The man nearly hit the roof in his surprise.

"What the hell?!? Who the hell are you? Do you know who I am?" The man's face quickly turned red with rage. Confirming that he was indeed her target, Sakaki quickly drew one of her silenced pistols and aimed it at his head.

"Yes. I do," she said, and fired a single bullet into his skull. With a spray of red against the wall behind him, the man fell limp against the cubicle's wall. Her mission complete, Sakaki looked for a way out, keeping the pistol at the ready. The easiest way out appeared to be the window she had come in through, so she took a running start at the wall below it. Before she had a chance to make it out however, Sakaki heard the washroom door open behind her. She quickly aborted her escape attempt and spun around into a kneeling position, with the pistol aimed at the newcomer's head. She wasted no time firing off a pair of shots upon seeing that it was the other bodyguard.

All at once she heard the restaurant go into an uproar. The man had fallen back into the dining area, so it made sense. All stealth abandoned, Sakaki bolted out of the washroom and picked her way through the crowd, heading for the main exit. Unfortunately, she quickly realized that there were more guards here than she had originally seen. Sakaki fired a trio of shots to her right, dropping one, and another two to her left, dropping another. The clip of the pistol was now half empty, if she had counted right, so she drew the second pistol in her right hand, shifting the half empty one to her left. Sakaki dropped another pair of henchmen I her way, and it was then that she noticed the entrance was blocked. It wasn't blocked in a way that stopped people from getting out, but more in a sense that she wouldn't make it out alive. There, waiting just outside the entrance, was a half a dozen heavily armed henchmen, waiting for the time to strike.

Sakaki thought quickly, and acted without hesitation. Keeping her speed, she shifted directions and headed for the front window. She fired a pair of shots from either gun at the window before leaping onto a table and, with a strong jump kick, through the pane of glass. She briefly covered her face with her arms to protect it from the flying glass, before firing off what was left of both magazines at the men outside the Sushi Deluxe. Two dropped to the ground from her hail of fire, and a third was hit in the arm, causing him to drop one of his two SMGs. Sakaki did not stop running however, and covered the distance to the alley where the car was hidden in no time.

Sakaki slammed the car's door shut after her, tossing the guns on the seat beside her in the process. She started the engine and gunned it out onto the street, fishtailing the car in a way that caught one unlucky pursuer off guard. The man was knocked flying by the force of the impact, and the others opened fire as Sakaki raced off into the night. A few shots deflected off the rear windscreen, which alerted her to the fact that the windows were bulletproof; a welcome addition. Her heart still racing a mile a minute, Sakaki took a few detours on the way back to the safe-house, in order shake off any other would-be pursuers.

* * *

**Author's Notes**Would have been longer, but I got cut off halfway through. So, instead of posting two-thirds of a chapter, I'll the entirety of a whole one. Nothing much else to say here; see you with the next chapter, probably tomorrow! 


	10. Chapter 9: Sparring

**A few opening words:** Sorry this took so long. Stuff happened, I got distracted. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Oh, and it should be noted that it's early afternoon right now. Just so you know.

* * *

Sakaki pulled the car into the garage and shut it off, waiting for the garage door to close behind her before getting out. She grabbed the pistols from the seat beside her and left the car unlocked. She made a quick stop in the 'armory' to put the pistols and ammo away. While there, she took note that the case with the sniper rifle was missing. Sakaki hung the pistol holsters and trench coat on a hook in the storage room, and closed the door behind her.

Upon entering the living room of the house, the mystery of the missing sniper rifle quickly solved itself. There, sitting cross-legged against the wall was none other than Ayumu Kasuga, and she was at work building the rifle. Sakaki stood there for a moment and watched. In almost no time flat, she had the thing completely assembled and loaded, before going to work taking it all apart again. Again, less than a minute later, it lay, in pieces, in its case. She looked up and noticed Sakaki standing there, oblivious to the fact she had been watching for a few minutes already.

"Ah, Sakaki-san! Welcome back. Didja complete your mission?"

"Yes, I did. We can cross him off the list." Sakaki felt no remorse for what she had done. As she had convinced herself before, they took something from her, and se was just repaying the debt.

"Hey guys, Sakaki-san's back!" Ayumu called out, and sure enough, Chiyo and Kagura came into the living room from the kitchen, a plate of sandwiches in hand. Chiyo set the plate she was carrying on the table before greeting her.

"Welcome back, Sakaki-san! Did everything- oh my God! You've been shot!" The small girl yelled in horror, pointing to Sakaki's left arm. Sakaki glanced down, and saw that she was correct. There was indeed a bullet wound in her arm. Now that she had noticed it, it started to throb. However, it wasn't serious. It hadn't bled much, and appeared to be only a scratch, where a bullet had grazed her during her escape.

"It's only a scratch; I'm fine."

"It could get infected! I'll get the first aid kit!" Chiyo quickly dashed off to a side room and returned with the small first aid kit. She took Sakaki by the arm and sat her down by the table where she opened up the kit. Before Sakaki could object, she swabbed on some alcohol, causing Sakaki to emit a pained gasp.

"I'm sorry, Sakaki-san, but it's necessary."

"Really, it isn't..."

"You're not getting hospitalized again under _my _watch." Something about the commanding tone in which she said that told Sakaki that was the end of the conversation. Chiyo finished cleaning the wound, then wrapped some of the bandages around it, tying them tightly, which caused it to throb a little. The wound stopped bleeding, and all that was visible on the bandage was a small spot of blood right where the center of the cut was. Having finished, Chiyo packed all the medical supplies neatly into the kit and set it on the table.

"There, all done. Are you hungry, Sakaki-san?" Chiyo asked, holding up the plate of sandwiches.

"Yes, thank you." Sakaki took one off the top of the pile, a tuna salad sandwich. After taking a few bites, she looked around at the others, who were all staring at her.

"Is... something wrong?" she asked.

"No, it's just... it's just weird seeing this side of you. Well, this _is _you now, what with your memory all messed up. But you would be the last person I'd expect to be doing what you're doing, the assassinating and whatnot," Kagura said. She spoke with a hint of admiration in her voice, and seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "Also, the wound and the knives make you look like a total badass! Who'd expect that the _real _you is a total softie?"

"Well, thanks, I think..."

"In any case, I wanna go on the next hit with you! Maybe you won't even need to get a single scratch then!" Kagura was starting to get excited.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm no professional, and I'm glad I'm not, but I don't want you – any of you – getting dragged into this. Being with me is dangerous enough. Chiyo's an exception, they already know about her, so I have to protect her. But you Ayumu, and Kagura, don't have to be here. It would be better for you if you left." Sakaki hated to say it, but she did want them out. If any of her friends were to be hurt, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

"Look, we're your best friends. And hell, I'm your rival. I'll be damned if I'm gonna miss a chance like this to prove myself. It's not like I'm totally incapable of defending myself. I'm an athlete, I've taken self-defense classes and stuff; I can hold my own in a fight. And Osaka, well, I'm sure there's enough weaponry for her to be fine too. Hell, she's probably got some wicked awesome accuracy with a rifle or something, as God's way of compensating or something." Kagura shrugged, and Ayumu looked over, confused. She had begun re-assembling the sniper rifle again, as she had been before.

"Compensating?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know, for your other... shortcomings." Kagura was trying to find a way out of her little predicament. It wasn't working.

"What shortcomings." Though she didn't seem angry, Ayumu pressed her for an answer. Before Kagura had a chance to reply though, Chiyo saved her and butted in.

"The point is, Sakaki-san, we're your best friends, and like it or not, we're sticking by you, right?" Chiyo looked over at the other two.

"Hell yeah!" yelled Kagura.

"Raaah!" Ayumu called out. It wasn't a word, more of an odd cheer, which she raised the rifle above her head to accent. But it wasn't an objection, and that pleased Sakaki.

"I... I don't know what to say. I, um, thank you, all of you." Sakaki wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes, and recomposed herself. "Alright then, if we're going to do this, we'll do it together. First, Chiyo and Ayumu, for obvious reasons you two won't be going out with me. Kagura, you can. But before anything, we should probably see what all of you are capable of, so to speak. I already taught Chiyo how to defend herself with the knife, so that leaves you two." Sakaki said, looking over at Ayumu and Kagura. "Help me clear out this area."

In almost no time flat the girls had the living room completely empty. The TV and table, among other things, had been moved into the bedroom where the animals had been hanging out or the time being. Now, Kagura and Sakaki stood facing each other in the center of the room, with Chiyo and Ayumu on the sidelines. Ayumu was still fiddling with the sniper rifle, apparently fascinated by it, especially the scope.

"Alright Kagura, you said you took some classes. If that's the case, then show me what you've learned."

"What? You want me to attack you?" Kagura was a little on edge. Sakaki had taken on a serious tone, clearly ready for a fight.

"Yes, attack me. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I believe I was trained long before I lost my memory, and I still remember those skills. So, show me what you can do." Kagura shrugged, and stepped back, raising her fists in front of her face in a basic combat stance. Sakaki slid a foot back, and had her hands out in front of her, high but not covering her face. Kagura opened up with a quick one-two punch, followed by a right kick aimed at her head. Sakaki dodged the two straight punches, and grabbed Kagura's foot as it came up to her face. In one fluid movement, she tossed Kagura's leg up and swept her other out from under her with a low kick. She hit the floor hard with a muffled 'oomph!'

"Damn, Sakaki. You weren't kidding..." Kagura said. _I guess I'll have to pull out all the stops to impress her._ With kick boxing classes a while back, and Tae-kwon do as well, she was more suited to using her feet, so that's what she did. Kagura leapt to her feet and delivered a strong roundhouse kick to Sakaki's abdomen. Sakaki almost didn't see it in time, and blocked it with both hands. Before she could get a hold though, Kagura yanked it back and instead swept it low like Sakaki had done before. The taller girl jumped gracefully over the kick, but was caught unprepared when Kagura continued the motion, bringing her leg around in another roundhouse kick to the abdomen. This time, it connected.

Sakaki was knocked back a small bit by the force, and Kagura could tell it hurt from the look on her face. She wasn't deterred though, Sakaki had said to give it her all, and that was what she was going to do. Kagura continued her attack, using both legs to unleash a dizzying flurry of kicks, a few of which made it through Sakaki's defense. _She must be testing me, she isn't even trying to counter anything, or block it for that matter. _Just as she though this, Sakaki shifted slightly to the side, causing one of her kicks to fly right by her middle. Sakaki grabbed on to her leg and held on. She then hooked her own foot around Kagura's other foot, the one that was holding her up. In the blink of an eye, Kagura was on the ground, Sakaki's foot poised over her foot. The victor had been determined, and it was not her.

"Not bad, Kagura, but you're too aggressive." The look of sheer determination disappeared from Sakaki's face as she offered a hand to help Kagura to her feet. "You leave yourself open to, well, _that_."

"Thanks, but, damn! Where did you learn all that stuff?"

"I don't know, but when needed, it comes to me on instinct." Sakaki couldn't have been more modest.

'Well, you gotta teach me some of that!"

"That's just what I intend to do." With that, both girls took their positions, and the sparring began again, but this time, not for the purpose of competition. This time, Kagura was a student, and Sakaki the teacher.

* * *

After about an hour and a half, Sakaki ended the training session. She herself could have gone longer, but she wasn't too sure about Kagura. The athlete was starting to breath heavily, clearly exhausted. At any rate, it was probably a good idea anyway; she had learned quite a lot in the short time they had sparred.

"That's enough for today, Kagura." Sakaki said.

"Really? Cause, huff I can go longer." Kagura spoke between heavy breaths.

"Look, you've learned enough to defend yourself well, and you're clearly tired. We can continue tomorrow. For now, we should rest a bit." Kagura reluctantly complied, and sat down against the wall as Chiyo returned the table to its place in the room. Ayumu followed with the TV. Chiyo took a seat beside the table, and Ayumu followed. For the first time since she got here, she had left the sniper rifle alone in its case.

"So, what now?" Chiyo asked. "Are you going to go after another one?"

"Nah, that'd be a bad idea. They'll be on edge now, with one of their bosses taken out. Wait till tomorrow, then go." Everyone looked at Ayumu.

"That's... a very good idea..." Kagura scratched her head. "Man, I never thought I'd be sayin' that to Osaka. Today's all kinds of messed up."

"In any case, Ayumu is right. I'll wait until tomorrow before going after the next person on the list. For now, you guys can relax. There's a few board games in the bedroom with the animals. I'll be in the other exercising if you need me." With that, Sakaki got up and headed into the empty room, closing the door behind her. She heard the others happily talking amongst themselves. Shedding her clothes, Sakaki began the same routine she had done the day before, twirling the two knives in a beautiful display of the deadly arts.

* * *

**Author's notes: **And there's that chapter. Up next on my list is the last part of the flashback in Ragnarok, so heads up. It may take a little longer, I need to iron out a few details (its gonna be plot-heavy I think).

Anyway, till next time!


	11. Chapter 10: An Ally Emerges

**A few opening words: **Alright, I decided I'll most likely work on this one exclusively until It's done. So there. And also, just so no one gets all messed up here, there's just a little time-skip to the next morning.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Sakaki! Where do you think you're going?" Sakaki turned as she put on her coat. She didn't stop though.

"Going out."

"I'm coming. You aren't ricking your life on your own this time."

"How did you…?"

"Call it women's intuition or something, I dunno. You're not very discreet about it." Since there was no way she was going to convince Kagura otherwise, Sakaki let in.

"Fine. But under one condition: follow my orders. I don't need you running off and getting killed while we're there.

"Sounds good to me. Where is this next guy anyway?" she asked as Sakaki led her to the weapons closet.

"It's their third-in-command this time. An older man, mid 70s. He's in a warehouse in the harbor, heavily guarded, but there should be a back door."

"That doesn't sound too- whoa." Kagura cut herself off as Sakaki opened the door. She didn't think it was much herself, but she had already grown used to the sight of weapons. Kagura, on the other hand, had not.

"Uh… wow. So, what are we using?"

"I'll be using the pistols and the shotgun. I don't care what you use." Sakaki strapped the holsters on, and shouldered the shotgun. She was ready; but was Kagura? Sakaki checked to see what Kagura had grabbed. She looked around the room for a moment, before taking the assault rifle and it's silencer.

"This should do," she said, and threw the strap over her shoulder.

"Alright, hop in."

"Shouldn't we wake the others and let them know we're leaving?" she asked.

"If this goes right, we'll be back before they wake up. Plus, it's better not to worry them, especially Chiyo."

"Right, good plan."

"If there's nothing else, we should get going." Kagura nodded, and they both stepped inside the car. Sakaki started the motor, and they were off.

* * *

"So, is that the place?" Kagura asked. Sakaki had parked the car in a dark alley in the warehouse district, across from the building this member was in. From the outside, it didn't look like much. There weren't even any guards. But Sakaki knew not to judge a book by its cover.

"Yeah, that's the place. Let's go." Kagura pulled the charging lever on the M4 and chambered a round. She ensured the silencer was screwed on tight then nodded, bringing the sights to bear ahead. Though, how effective the silencer would be all depended on whether Sakaki needed to use the pump-action on her back. If she was able to make do with the two silenced pistols, then they would be able to, hopefully, get in and out unnoticed.

The pair crossed the street and headed into the alley beside their target building. Sakaki led the way to a side door. Opening it slowly, she ensured there were no guards before heading inside. The warehouse floor was lined with rows upon rows of two story tall shelving units full of crates and boxes, but there was still no sign of any henchmen around. Without a word, Sakaki and Kagura headed off silently towards the back of the building.

The two reached the back wall unimpeded, and followed it along until they reached another door. This time, however, Sakaki heard voices on the other side. Unable to make out what they were saying, she put her ear to the door in an attempt to rectify that. Unfortunately, the talking stopped, replaced by the sound of an engine revving, and then squealing tires. Fearing that her prey was escaping, Sakaki threw the door open and dashed into the room, Kagura right behind her.

The instant she passed through the door, Sakaki knew she'd made a tactical error. There was one remaining vehicle in the room – a garage, apparently – and near it, was the very man she was after. Beside him was another man, this one wearing a leather jacket (similar to those given to pilots), tan cargo pants, and black sunglasses. Other than the short buzzed-off haircut, he bore no resemblance to a henchman of the Grey Men.

Sakaki heard noise behind her, and turned just in time to see a third man, this one quite obviously a henchman, kick the rifle out of Kagura's hands. In a flash, he had his arm around her neck and his pistol pressed to Kagura's temple. Sakaki leveled her two pistols at the man, then, thinking wiser, turned sideways and pointed one at the second in command of the grey Men, the older man with grey hair and glasses, the one she was after. The man was unfazed however, and nodded to the man beside him. The man, who Sakaki assumed was a personal bodyguard, blurred into motion.

Sakaki barely had time to bring her other pistol to bear by the time he closed the distance between them. He kicked straight up, knocking one of her guns up into the air. Acting in rhythm, he spun low and swept Sakaki's feet out from under her, and she dropped like a sack of potatoes, her remaining pistol clattering to the floor just out of reach. The man jumped back up and snatched the first gun out of the air. He aimed it at Kagura and pulled the trigger.

Sakaki was barely able to keep up with all that was going on and just as she realized what this man had done, she was proven wrong yet again as the man that was holding Kagura dropped to the floor dead with a bullet in his head. Kagura was completely pale. Or, at least, as pale as someone as tanned as her could be. The man who had pulled the trigger lowered the gun and offered Sakaki a hand, which she cautiously grasped. With a quick tug, he pulled her to her feet. He then spun the gun around in his hand and offered it to her grip first. Sakaki took it, and holstered the weapon.

Bending over to pick up her other weapon, Sakaki saw Kagura retrieve the rifle. She joined her side, and the two leveled their weapons half-heartedly at the remaining two men in the room. The bodyguard had returned to the older man's side by now, and leaned back casually against the black limousine that dominated the center of the garage.

"I understand your caution, but we are short on time. I'm sure you have many questions to ask, and I'll gladly answer them in the car." The old man spoke calmly, and there was no malice in his voice.

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" Sakaki asked.

"You don't, so I'll understand if you choose not to come. But you'll have to forget about our differences if you wish to have your questions answered. Although, I think it's plain to see that we are not enemies, at least, if current events has anything to say." Sakaki looked from him, then to Kagura. Kagura shrugged her shoulders slightly, noting that she had no idea what to do. Deciding that the two were trustworthy, if only by the fact that the bodyguard had saved Kagura's life, Sakaki holstered her remaining pistol.

Kagura lowered her rifle as well, and followed Sakaki as she headed for the limo. The bodyguard ran around to the driver's door and started the car. The old man climbed in first, taking a seat near the front, facing backwards, and then Sakaki, who tossed the shotgun on the seat beside her. Kagura climbed in last, and rested the M4 in her lap. As the vehicle started to move, the old man spoke up again.

"As far as introductions go, I know you, my dear, as Sakaki Reiko. That is correct, is it not?" Sakaki nodded. "I thought so. I am Hiroshi Takanawa, _former_ second in command of the Grey Men. And you are..?" he asked, motioning to Kagura.

"Oh, Kagura Oaru."

"Pleased to meet you. Now; onto business. I'll answer any questions you have to ask, to the best of my ability." Sakaki nodded, and started with the first question that came to mind.

"What do you mean by 'former second in command'?"

"Well, as would be somewhat obvious by my current situation, I have chosen to remove myself from the organization, along with my personal bodyguard, who goes by the alias Tarquin."

"That seems well enough. But how do you know me?"

"Ah, now that is a long story, one that ties in with why I am leaving my duties. I suppose I shall start from the beginning. Your father and I were good friends, Sakaki. He was the leader of a small time gang back in the day, and I the leader of a larger one. We met one day when both of us were hired on by the same man to take each other out. He was the leader of a third smaller gang. The two of us met and became brothers in arms, men with a shared goal. Together, we struck down the leader of the third gang and merged all three under our joint command, becoming one of the larger gangs in the city.

"Six months after that, his wife – your mother - gave birth to you. Now that he had a family, your father backed out of the organized crime business, leaving me to lead our gang. He still played a role and took his cut, but he largely left the running of it to me. I didn't mind though. Almost as soon as you were able to walk, he trained you in martial arts and self defense, which is why you know these skills by instinct. He wanted to make sure that if he wasn't there to protect you, you could do it yourself. We lived like this for 17 years, and then _he _came along. Shuji.

"Shuji was an eager young man, and I took a liking to him. He had brains, and good ideas. Within a few short weeks, I had promoted him to my second in command. But that was when things turned for the worse. The very same day I was about to visit your father and you – I did this quite often – I found out that he and your mother had been killed, along with you, or so I had thought. After a few weeks of investigation, I found out who it was that had murdered them. It was Shuji.

"I approached him about it, only to be forced, at gunpoint, to relieve myself of my position at the head of the gang. He took that position for himself, and renamed the gang the Grey Men. I would have left then and there, but I was forced on pain of death to serve as his second in command. Tarquin was always at my side, but we never had a chance to try anything. So, I bided my time.

"Then, just a few days ago, I found out that you were alive, and that you had taken out one of his other subordinates. It was then and there that we set our plan to escape into motion. It was only by sheer coincidence that you arrived her at this time. Originally, I had hoped that you would recognize me in the list, but shortly thereafter I found out that you had suffered memory loss due to your wounds. And that is the story of how I know you, and what brings us here today." Sakaki was silent for a long time, letting this sink in. She shed a silent tear for her mother and father who she knew better now than she ever had before, even with her current state of memory loss. Kagura was next to speak up.

"So, where are we going now?"

"I'll drop the two of you off near the train station; it's too busy there for anyone to track you there."

"But, what about our car?"

"It's been lo-jacked, as all our cars are. The Grey Men would be able to find out exactly where it is at all times." Sakaki was the next to ask a question.

"Where are you headed after this? Can I count on your help to take down the Grey Men?"

"Unfortunately no. This business is hard on an old man like me, and I believe it is time to take my permanent leave of absence. I wouldn't be of much help to you girls anyhow." The small window separating the passenger compartment and the driver's compartment slid open.

"We've arrived at the station, Mr. Takanawa."

"Alas, it seems this is where we part. If you ever wish to speak again sometime, come look me up in Hokkaido. I shouldn't be too hard to track down. Oh, and you should take this. You'll draw less attention." He tossed Sakaki a duffel bag, into which she put the shotgun and the M4. "Good luck, Miss Reiko, Miss Oaru. And, should you get the chance, give the little bastard a kick for me." Sakaki and Kagura got out of the car, and waved as it merged back into traffic.

As the two started the trek home, a thought came to mind.

"Kagura, what did he say about our car?" Kagura thought for a moment.

"That it was lo-jacked, and that the grey Men could track it anywhere…." Sakaki went pale.

"Oh, shit." She and Kagura made the connection at the same time. Without wasting another second, they broke into a sprint, pushing their bodies to the limit in an attempt to get back before anything could happen to their friends.

* * *

**Author's notes: ** Suspense! Sorry for the long speech there, but it was needed. Plot points FTW!

Also, as you might have caught on by now, this story is nearing the end. That doesn't mean you can expect what'll happen next thought, or whether I'm actually telling the truth. Anyway, expect the unexpected.

Also, pump-action shotguns are forever the most badass form of shotgun, surpassed only by the dual-barreled ones where you have to 'break' it in half and load it manually. The more you know!

Whoever can guess where that last line is from gets a cookie.

Till next time!


	12. Chapter 11: As Luck Would Have It

**A few opening words: **Not much to say here. Enjoy!

* * *

"Alright, there's the street! Lets hurry!" Sakaki and Kagura rounded the corner at full speed. They had sprinted the entire distance from the station – no easy feat for anyone. Up ahead, their fears were confirmed. Parked in front of the house was a black sedan and a pair of motorbikes. Sakaki increased her pace, and beat Kagura to the house. Not wasting any time, she bolted through the open gate and stopped at the front door. It was open a crack, and she could hear shouts from inside, followed by what sounded like a struggle. Sakaki ripped open the bag and pulled out the shotgun. Cocking a round, she kicked the door open.

The first thing she saw was Ayumu huddled against the wall, and a Grey Men henchman pointing a gun at her head. Sakaki aimed the gun and fired without wasting any time. The shotgun bucked and the henchman dropped instantly, with a ring of small bullet holes on the wall behind him in the shape of his upper torso.

"Sakaki-san! They've got Chiyo-chan!" Sakaki nodded briefly, and ran off through the garage, the direction the other henchmen had taken, according to Ayumu. She bolted through the open doors, and was on the driveway when she saw the sedan speed off, followed by one of the motorbikes, Sakaki dropped the shotgun and sprinted at the opening. If she was right, then… there!

Sakaki spun and lashed out with a roundhouse kick, catching the second biker in the face as he passed by. He was sent flying off the bike, and the bike skidding on its side down the street, coming to a stop a few dozen feet away. The man struggled to his knees when Sakaki lifted him to his feet by his collar.

"Where are they taking her?"

"Fuck you, bitch."

"Where?!" Sakaki whipped out a pistol and pressed to the man's forehead. He simply stared back with angry eyes. Sakaki threw him down and turned away. Without even looking, she aimed the pistol at his head again and fired. Right now, Sakaki was beyond asking questions. This was war.

Sakaki picked up the shotgun and slung it over her shoulder. She returned the pistol to its holster, and went over to the bike. Apart from a few scratches and a cracked mirror, it was in working order. A Kawasaki Ninja ZR-10, according to the lettering on the dies. She threw her leg over the bike and revved the gas. The bike hummed beneath her. Whether it was instinct or not, Sakaki shifted into gear and rocketed off down the street in pursuit of the sedan, just as Kagura and Ayumu dashed out onto the street.

Catching up to the sedan – the same kind of car she had been using – wasn't all that hard. The car had taken the turns at high speed, leaving skid marks to show where it had gone. That, combined with the bikes much higher speed, allowed Sakaki to catch up much faster.

Sakaki leaned hard into the next turn, which opened onto a larger four lane road. Up ahead, she saw the black sedan and the other bike driving casually, trying not to attract attention. She gunned the engine, and much to her surprise, the front wheel popped up. Sakaki leaned forward almost all the way, and the bike stayed in a wheelie for a good few seconds, before she let off the throttle and it dropped back down. With that in mind, she increased the throttle slower, and this time, the bike rocketed forward.

Sakaki wove her way in between cars and trucks, but before she could get less than three cars back, they noticed her. The biker swerved off to the side and slowed down, whereas the car sped up and began overtaking traffic in an attempt to lose her. Sakaki let the car go for a moment, and watched for the biker. He slowed back until he was beside Sakaki, a lane over. The two passed by a bus, and when they saw each other again, and this time, one had a gun leveled at the other.

Sakaki slammed on the brakes just as the man fired. His bullets tore through the air where her head had been, and killed the driver of a blue van in the other lane. Sakaki chanced a look back and saw carnage. More than a dozen cars were piling up behind her. Sakaki sped up again, and drew her own pistol in her right hand. She swerved into the other lane, and found herself in the perfect shooting position. Unfortunately, the other biker saw this as well.

Sakaki wasn't able to shoot before the man aimed his pistol at the left front tire of the car beside him. Gunning the throttle, he fired. The car bucked and swerved to the left – right in front of Sakaki. She looked left, and found herself staring at the trailer of an 18-wheeler. With no more room to spare, Sakaki pressed herself as low as possible in the bike, and swerved under the trailer. It passed mere inches over her head, and just as she came out from under, the trucker slammed on the brakes as the back end of the trailer collided with the car, causing even more mayhem.

Sakaki let out a brief sigh of relief, and looked up. There, right in front of her again, was the other biker. He was looking back at her, with the pistol aimed straight at her. Sakaki could think of only one thing to do. She hit the throttle. Hard. The front end of her bike popped up into the air just as the man loosed what was left of his clip at her. The bike's undercarriage absorbed the bullets that hit, and when she heard him stop shooting, she let off and the front dropped back down.

As the front end came down, Sakaki leveled her own weapon and squeezed off three shots. The man slumped forward onto his bike's handlebars, causing it to veer into the oncoming lane. Another massive wreck ensued. Now, only the sedan was left. After a moment of searching, Sakaki spotted it not far ahead, attempting to weave through traffic. Unfortunately for them, the bike was much more suited to this task, and in almost no time flat, Sakaki was right on their bumper.

The men inside the car must've realized there was no outrunning Sakaki. The sunroof opened, and one of the men inside emerged. Sakaki took aim at him, but froze as she saw what he brought up with him. The man was holding Chiyo as a shield, one arm around her neck. The girl was struggling, but she was too small to make any difference. In the man's other hand, he held an Uzi. Sakaki quickly holstered her weapon; there was no way she was going to risk harming Chiyo. She swerved to the left – into the oncoming lanes – just as the man opened fire. Bullets pinged off the road, tracing a line leading straight to her.

Sakaki then found a new threat, one more dangerous than badly aimed bullets. She threw her weight left and right, barely missing each car. The henchman was still taking potshots at her from the other side of the road, but none were all that close. But then, he changed targets. After reloading, he fired a full clip into an oncoming car up ahead. He took out both wheels on the left side of the car, causing it to spin and flip almost completely over. The car was now sliding in Sakaki's direction on its side, bottom towards her.

Luckily, Sakaki was able to come up with a solution. Or at least, a partial one. She popped the front end up as she had many times already, and hit the car as if it were a ramp. Because of the angle, it worked as such, and launched the bike into the air. Sakaki took a second to glance down. Cars were slamming on their brakes in both lanes, trying to avoid the new wreck. Unfortunately, this was all happening below her, and maneuvering a bike in midair is next to impossible. Rather, right on impossible.

As luck would have it, there was a small gap where the bike chose to land. Sakaki hit the pavement in a shower of sparks. Whether because of damage inflicted by the landing, or another reasin, the bike began to wobble. Despite this, Sakaki managed to muscle the bike through the wreckage and back into the correct lane. Unfortunately, she could control the bike no more, and it veered off to the right, on a perpendicular course with traffic. Directly in her way was yet another 18-wheeler trailer, although this one was significantly lower to the ground.

Sakaki saw no other way to avoid the trailer, so at the last moment, she threw all her weight left, flipping the bike on its side. Sakaki was able to sort of climb onto the side of the bike and hang on, as she slid under the trailer. The out of control bike slid clear of traffic, and hit the curb at high speed. Sakaki was thrown clean off, and through the front window of the shop she happened to be careening towards. Pain lanced up her body, and she felt the glass cut into her skin in several places before she slammed into one of the displays.

Luck was on Sakaki's side yet again, as she realized the building was a clothing store. She had landed in a clearance bin, which created the perfect cushion for her landing. Sakaki pushed herself into a sitting position and gave her body a once-over. She felt pain pretty much everywhere, but it was worse in a few places. Her clothes were torn in several places, bloody cuts showing wherever fabric was torn. Sakaki removed a few larger pieces of glass from her right side, getting to her feet again. Sakaki forced the pain to the back of her mind, and ran back out onto the street.

It was from here on the sidewalk that she saw the carnage laid out before her. There must've been near a hundred cars wrecked throughout the street. Those uninjured scrambled about trying to help those that were. It was chaos, and somehow, it felt surreal, almost like a bad dream.

"Oh my God! Miss, are you alright? You're bleeding! You need to get to a-" Sakaki was brought back to reality by a frantic woman who witnessed her untimely lesson in flying – and landing. Sakaki shot her a look that said 'Don't ask.', and the woman seemed to get the point. That, and she noticed the shotgun hung over Sakaki's back.

Though, the woman did bring to Sakaki's attention how lucky she really was. She had flown a good 30 feet through the air, narrowly missing no less than three cement pillars in the store, before crash landing in the clearance bin. It was nothing short of a miracle. Clearly, luck was on her side. _Let's hope it stays that way…_

Sakaki dashed off down the street, and turned onto the nearest street. Much to her surprise, up ahead she saw the black sedan parked in front of a classy looking high-rise. She saw three men get out of the car, one of them dragging Chiyo along with him. They entered through the front doors, and the two bellboys followed. Sakaki waited for a break in traffic before darting across the street. She didn't break stride until she reached the front of the building.

Through the glass, she could see only the lobby, which looked empty. Sakaki reloaded one of her pistols – which was down to only two shots – then drew the other. Holding them casually, she pushed the door open and headed inside.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Stay tuned next time for the exciting finale of Memories Lost! 


	13. Chapter 12: Welcome to the Jungle

**A few opening words: **Alrighty then! Welcome to the climatic end of Memories lost! A forewarning; expect tons of action and gunplay! As well as that, there will be some swearing as well. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Sakaki kicked the lobby door open, and scanned the room with her two pistols. From what she could see, the room was empty so far. Although, there were two enclaves to the left and right which she couldn't see, most likely the reception desks. Sakaki advanced, and aimed one pistol to either side, head swiveling left and right.

To her left was an empty desk, and to her right was a younger woman, maybe a few years older than herself. She looked nervous, but kept her cool. Almost instantly, the woman moved her hand for the intercom.

"You! Where is your boss?" The girl froze. She had to be new.

"I… uh… He's-"

"Out with it. What floor?"

"P-penthouse!"

"Thank you." Sakaki moved for the elevator. The girl looked terrified, but still moved her hand towards the intercom.

"Go ahead. Tell him I'm coming. Tell him, it's his day to die." Sakaki walked off to the open elevator before the girl could say more. She hit the button for the penthouse suite, and the door closed quietly. Sakaki stood there, pistols at her side, breathing heavily. Her muscles were trying to stiffen up, and her whole body ached from the motorcycle wreck. Still, she ignored it all; the adrenaline coursing through her veins made that a lot easier than it sounded.

Sakaki watched the lights count up the floors, idly listening to the bland elevator music. Apparently, the penthouse was on the 52nd floor, a long way up. Not the kind of fall a human could survive. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue. Hopefully.

"Ah, Sakaki. You've showed up sooner than I thought. Well done on that."

Sakaki nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Shuji's voice. She searched around the small elevator, finding him nowhere.

"I thought you'd be smarter than that. Look up here, above the keypad in the corner." Sakaki followed the directions, and saw a small security camera mounted to the wall, with a red blinking light on the front.

"Hello there! Now, there is something I feel I should tell you. You seem to be coming up to the 52nd floor, so I might as well tell you. While that is as high as the elevator goes, it is _not_ the last floor. Actually, it is my greenhouse. You see, I enjoy working with plants and such, particularly those from tropical places. That being said, it may be a little hot for you in that coat.

"I'm getting a little off-topic here. What I wanted to tell you is that you'll be faced with two dozen of my elite guard. The best money can buy." Sakaki looked up questioningly.

"Why did you tell me that?"

"Why, Sakaki my dear, whether or not you know about 24 heavily armed and dangerous men in the next room does not affect whether or not you can do anything about it."

"No, I mean, why did you bother? Nothing is going to keep me from killing you."

"So much hate." A bell dinged once, indicating that the elevator had reached the desired floor. "Well, good luck. Oh, here's some music to fit the mood. Welcome to the Jungle, Sakaki. Welcome, to _my _jungle." Sakaki sighed as a song began to play through the speakers, Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n'Roses. Suddenly, the doors slid open, and all hell ensued.

Gunfire erupted from all angles on the small elevator. Sakaki dove out into the greenhouse just in time, her trench-coat flailing behind her. Several holes could already be seen in it. She sprinted along the edge of the room, glancing into the center every few steps. In the middle of the greenhouse was a forest, or rather a jungle. Trees were strewn all over the place, with ferns and tall grass littering the ground.

There were many armed men in the jungle, that was for sure, if the amount of shooting had anything to say about it, but Sakaki couldn't see them at all, only the muzzle flashes. She reached the corner of the room and turned, still following the wall. She holstered her pistols and pulled the shotgun off her back, holding it near her waist as she ran.

Up ahead, Sakaki spotted a large support pillar, one she could use for cover. Just as she was nearing it though, a jolt of pain shot up through her left leg, a bullet had clipped her shin. The sudden pain caused her to misstep, and tumble forward. Sakaki shoulder rolled into something that looked like a slide-tackle. Before she was in cover however, she spotted a pair of men approaching through the ferns. Sakaki fired a pair of shots, taking both out, and then she was in cover.

Sakaki leaned back against the pillar and took a moment to catch her breath. The henchmen stopped shooting as well, leaving the greenhouse in an eerie silence, save for the music. She took a glance left and right, and then noticed something on the wall, right in front of her, near the top. A security camera. Great. Sakaki fired a single shot, destroying it. All of a sudden, the music stopped as well.

"I'd appreciate you don't destroy any more of my equipment," Shuji said, sounding a little annoyed.

"I'd appreciate you giving back my friend," Sakaki replied.

"Yet unfortunately, you aren't in a position to demand anything. Ta-ta!" Almost on cue, Sakaki heard a faint _ting_, then another closer by. Then she watched in horror as a grenade rolled by the side of the support pole.

"Shit!"

* * *

Shuji sighed as he lifted his hand off the intercom.

"She's determined, I'll give her that." Suddenly, there was a loud _thwump_, accompanied by a rumble that could be felt throughout the penthouse.

"And there goes my beautiful greenroom. Damn, she'll pay for that." All of a sudden, the man to his right cried out in pain, waving his right hand around. Even so, he managed to hold onto his captive.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

"All will be revealed in due time. And please don't bite the guards."

"Up yours, jerk. I can't wait for Sakaki to come up here and kick your ass!"

"You've got quite a mouth on you, Miss Mihama, especially for your age. No matter. As for Sakaki, you shouldn't expect much. If she doesn't die in the process of getting here, then I'll be killing her in due time. You as well.

"Why?"

"Because you're a witness, of course. Can't have you running around knowing what you know. I'll have to take care of your other friends too, the ones that got away already. What were their names? Kagura… and Ayumu, I believe…"

"You bastard," at that moment, Shuji nodded to the guard holding Chiyo, and he swiftly smacked her on the side of her head with the grip of the pistol he had pulled out. Chiyo fell back into his grasp, partially stunned by the blow. The man put the gun to her head as further deterrent.

"Now, if you'll please remain quiet, I have some paperwork to attend to…"

* * *

"Goddamnit, this bitch's too damn fast! How many did she take out already?"

"I dunno! Half a dozen, maybe a full dozen!"

"Shit, gather the others. We'll regroup back at the penthouse elevator. We'll take her-hurgh!" The man was interrupted as a large knife appeared through his throat. Sakaki yanked it free and spun around to face his companions. So far, she had eliminated at least half of the guards. That left a dozen more, well, eleven after this one. She leapt forward, and ended the first man's life with a few quick slashes with her knives, and before the second could draw a bead on her, he was sent sprawling by a powerful kick, courtesy Sakaki. He didn't get up.

Sakaki took a moment to get her bearings. The penthouse elevator was a few dozen yards behind her, but there were still guards in the greenroom. _Every second I waste is another second Chiyo-chan is in his grasp,_ Sakaki thought. And even with her athletic ability and endurance, she was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion, and her wounds were beginning to pile up as well. Throwing caution to the wind, she bolted to the open elevator.

Luckily, it was unguarded. She slid inside and hit the button to close the doors. As soon as they closed, the elevator began moving. There was only two floors (technically, two were taken up by the greenhouse) between her and saving Chiyo-chan… and getting her revenge on Shuji. She took a moment to look herself over, take note of the damage done.

Sakaki found herself to be bleeding from multiple wounds on her legs and arms, though none were too serious, most from bullets grazing her, or light slash wounds from the few that had knives. The few that were more serious bled more, like the bullet that had gone through her left shin, and the stab wound in her side. Sakaki put her hand to her forehead, and found that it came off sticky with blood. She checked her somewhat short hair, and found it matted with blood. Whether it was her own or not, she didn't know, but Sakaki didn't remember getting hit anywhere up there. _Must've been falling debris from that grenade going off,_ she thought.

Now that Sakaki thought about it, a lot of the blood on her was not her own. Her clothes were stained with the blood of those she had killed, as well as her own. Reflecting on it, she probably could've gotten by without killing so many, or in such brutal ways for the few she had used her knives against. However, she had been in an enraged state, something that wouldn't have happened before the incident a few months ago.

_Come to think of it_, Sakaki thought, _I have changed a lot since that day. The old me would be ashamed… No, the old me was killed by Shuji. _This _is me now. _This_ is who I am. I still have all my friends, and they still like me for who I am, regardless of how I've changed. And now, one of my closest friends is in danger, danger that I dragged her into. I can't live with that._

A high pitched chime was heard, and the elevator doors slid open. Sakaki dashed out, shotgun in hand. She cast a glance left, then found what she was looking for to the right. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"How nice of you to join us, Sakaki." Shuji was sitting behind his desk, wearing a formal grey suit. Behind him was a set of large bay window, at least a dozen feet high. To his left was a guard with an SMG aimed at Sakaki, and to his right was what made Sakaki's blood run cold. A guard stood there, holding Chiyo firmly with one arm, and in his other he held a pistol to the girl's head. What made it worse was the thin line of blood flowing down the side of Chiyo's forehead. Shuji snapped his fingers, and two more armed guards stepped out from their hiding places, and took up positions behind Sakaki.

"You bastard…"

"Why thank you," Shuji replied, in a matter of fact tone. "Now, let's get down to business. Would you please drop the weapon, and kindly kick it away? Wouldn't want young Chiyo here to be harmed, would you?"

Against her better judgment, Sakaki complied. She dropped the shotgun, and kicked it away.

"Good, that's a good girl. As a further deterrent," Shuji pulled a pistol out of his suit and fired off two quick shots, one hitting Sakaki in the left bicep, the other her right thigh. Sakaki gasped in pain, and fell to one knee, clutching the wounds. Chiyo screamed, and struggled, but the man still held her tight.

"I'm sorry about that m'dear, but we can't have you thinking about attacking can we?" He looked her over, then got up and started pacing behind his desk. "With wounds like those, you'll most likely bleed out in less than an hour, so I'll keep this short. I'm sure you're wondering who I am, and why I've singled you, and consequently your friends, out."

"Fuck you."

"If you wouldn't mind."

Sakaki shot him an evil glare, one that said _I'm going to kill you, very painfully_. Shuji shrugged it off.

"Come now, is that any way to greet a family member, after so long?" Sakaki's eyes widened in shock. "Yes, that's right, _sister _dear. I am your brother."

"How…?"

"You met with Mr. Takanawa, yes? I thought he would've told you." Shuji paused for a moment. "Right, right, he never did find out your father had a child before they met. Well, I suppose I'll fill you in. I owe you that much don't I?

"Now… where to begin? I suppose I'll start when I was young. Your, I should say, our parents had a little baby boy one day. Your father, with his somewhat successful 'business' still on the rise, kept working it in his free time, spending all other time with his family. It was a good life, for all I knew, my dad was a normal dad, the kind who went to work every day, came home, and put food on the table.

"I never found out about his true profession until I was six, but it was too late for him to do anything about it. A rival gang had had enough of his power, and put out a hit on our dad. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in killing him. So, what did they do? They took his firstborn child, _me_, instead. I was taken from my home at night, and from there, I learned the meaning of hell.

"The next six years of my life was torture. Literally, torture. The sick bastards would rather torture me, have _fun_ with me than kill me. Then, one day, when I was twelve, or sometime around then, I broke free of captivity. As you would probably guess, I was quite bitter at the world, as well as my parents. Why hadn't they come to find my? Why hadn't they saved me?

"A few shaky years later, I found myself part of a small time street gang, working my way up to the top. It was about then that I found out the truth about my parents. My father, he was now the co-leader of one of the larger underground organizations in the city. What pained me the most was that he had moved on. He had _forgotten _me! Both him _and _ his wife! They just… forgot about me, and moved on! They even had another child, you! Life was great, for them!

"I couldn't strike then, not in my current situation. I bided my time until now. Or rather, a few months ago. I got my revenge on them, for forgetting me."

"You're wrong." Sakaki looked up at him.

"What?"

"You're wrong. They wouldn't have forgotten about you. They would have been crushed."

"Lies! They moved on so quickly! You took my place!"

"So you had to KILL them? Is that it? They couldn't save you, yet you blame them?" Shuji was beginning to get angry. It was clear that he was insane, probably caused by the torture.

"And what would YOU know?! No matter, you won't be living much longer anyway. Gustaf? Do it." The man holding Chiyo, apparently Gustaf, tightened his grip on the girl. A sadistic grin came to his face as he gripped the pistol tighter.

It was then that Sakaki noticed something, the sun glinting off something on the roof of the building across the street. All of a sudden, there was a faint sound of glass cracking, followed by a _thwip_ sound. The man holding Chiyo dropped his gun. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell backwards with a bloody hole in the side of his head, leaving Chiyo standing there with a stunned look on her face. A moment later, the same thing happened to the guard on the other side of Shuji. The sniper on the opposite roof stood up, and Sakaki was able to make out who it was. It was Ayumu Kasuga!

"What?!" Almost as if on cue, the stairs door burst open behind Sakaki, and Kagura dashed out. She fired two quick bursts from her assault rifle and dropped the two guards behind Sakaki. Shuji looked around frantically. Kagura was walking slowly forward, rifle leveled at Shuji. He cast an enraged glance at the two girls then aimed his own pistol at Chiyo, who was still frozen with fear.

Time slowed, or seemed to at least. Shuji mouthed the words to something, But Sakaki didn't hear. She pushed herself to her feet.

"Family or not, you're dead you son of a bitch!" Sakaki surged forward, ignoring the searing pain all over her body. A third sniper shot whizzed through the glass and destroyed Shuji's pistol, but Sakaki was oblivious. Her vision had begun to fade. All she saw now was Shuji. She built up full speed in four steps, then vaulted the desk with ease. Shuji never saw it coming. Sakaki planted a flying kick dead center on his chest on her way over the desk.

Shuji, with a shocked expression on his face, was catapulted backwards into the glass. Normally, it might have saved him, but weakened by the bullet holes, it couldn't take the force of the hit. The giant window shattered, and he soared into the open air. As he plunged down to the street below, he let out a shriek that could be heard blocks away. Oddly enough, it made Sakaki content. She wavered where she stood, but couldn't keep herself up. She collapsed to the side, onto the floor.

Chiyo and Kagura were at her side immediately. They had tears in their eyes, and were speaking frantically, but Sakaki could not hear them. She had completed her mission. She was happy now, her friends were safe. Sakaki stopped fighting the exhaustion and pain, and let her body do as it wished. She was done fighting. She could finally rest, knowing all was well…

* * *

**Author's notes: ** Not much to say here. Hope you enjoyed the fic! Stay tuned for the Epilogue! As a note, there will be no Author's notes or opening words to accompany it, so I'll say this now.

I'd like to thank all those who read and gave feedback on this story! It is officially the first fanfic I have finished, and I promise it won't be my last! Thanks guys!


	14. Epilogue

_"Three months have passed now since the fall of the Grey Men, an influential underground corporation specializing in illegal activities. As of yet, the police have found no leads as to who orchestrated the fall of the organization, as well as the death of its leader, a man by the name of Shuji."_

"Sir? You're tea is ready."

"Oh? Thank you, dear." The old man thanked his young servant. She was new, but doing great at her job. He took a sip of his tea, before standing up and walking over to his window. The news continued to play in the background.

_"Police have released information about one family destroyed by the Grey Men, the Reiko family. Father, Shinjuko, __and __mother, Yuki, were both confirmed dead. Their daughter, Sakaki Reiko, is currently missing and presumed dead."_

_Poor girl… did a right good job__ though. Sure showed Shuji who'__s boss. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned indeed… _The old man looked out the window of his mansion, a large villa on a mountain near the fringes of Hokkaido. He had given up the crime business once the incident with Shuji began.

"Mr. Takanawa, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, I'm fine. You're dismissed for the day, Hina."

"Thank you, sir." With a polite bow, the girl shuffled off to get her things and head home. Hiroshi Takanawa often did this. He may be old, but he could still take care of himself. His servants knew this, but they liked the old man, and they continued to work for him. Hiroshi didn't mind though, he liked the company, and he made a note to become friends with everyone who worked in his household. His bodyguard, a man who went by the alias Tarquin, was always around, but he wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"I wonder if you survived, Sakaki. You had so much of your father in you. Your mother's beautiful face as well." He sighed. Why was it always the nicest ones that had to suffer? "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help more than I did…" It was about then that Hiroshi heard someone approaching from own the hall. He continued to stare out the window, reflecting on past events, feigning that he hadn't heard.

"Mr. Takanawa?"

"Hina? I thought I sent you home."

"You did sir, but there's a woman at the door for you."

"Oh? I don't recall inviting anyone over. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure. She said you invited her a while back…" The old man started a low laugh.

"Sir?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Come, I'd like you to meet someone…"


End file.
